


Friends

by keeryeun



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU - No zombies, Alternative Universe - Modern Day, Angst, Finished, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mention of Death, Slow Burn, Violence, a WHOLE lot of fluff, implied/reference slurs, mention of alcoholism, mention of drugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 07:11:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 91,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8480338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keeryeun/pseuds/keeryeun
Summary: "You don't talk very much do you?" Chirped Jesus."Nah" grumbled Daryl in reply, he could feel the younger mans stare burning into his cheek."Hm, shame. Seems like you'd have things to talk about" Jesus pouted and looked at the path in front of him.Daryl found himself slyly throwing a glance towards the man."What's that supposed to mean?" He mumbled, giving in to his curiosity."Well, usually people who don't talk too much have the most to say. It's just getting them to say it is the hard part. And, there's nothing wrong with making new friends" The man replied, giving a coy smile._________________________________________________________________This fic is named after and loosely inspired by the song 'Friends' by Ed Sheeran.





	1. Chapter 1

The blissful feeling of waking up on a weekend, no alarm clock or rising before the sun has risen itself. Not that Daryl didn't like getting up to go to his job, he actually really enjoyed his work, it was more so just the early morning starts that he preferred not to be involved in. He let out a groan as he lifted his hands towards his eyes and rubbed them, then squinting in the light that was entering his room from the curtains that he had forgotten to close the night before.

It was rare people found a job that was one of their true passions, for Daryl he thought of it as a small reward for getting through all the shit he had been through in the past. Biking was always an escape for him, had been for years and it made him forget about things when his mind was filled to the brim. He always found himself going on a ride to destination nowhere when he had a lot on his mind, it cleared it for a short period of time and calmed his nerves. Daryl had kept his job for four years now and had gradually worked his way to being the store manager for that specific shop. He was essentially his own boss now so of course took advantage of that position and made all the younger workers do their shifts on most weekends so he could get some well earned rest, sometimes he felt as if he would still be able to run the shop himself without all his employees but he knows that they do come in useful at best.

Daryl also wasn't the best at communicating, it was always something he had struggled with and wasn't very good at getting his emotions across ever since he was a kid and he knew if he was raised by a more loving family, maybe that wouldn't have been the case. Some days he'd just get all the chirpy younger workers to do the talking for him and he'd just work in the back of the shop doing paperwork or working on a bike in the workshop. The workers understood this as Daryl would usually hire almost anyone.

It didn't take much to impress him, you just had to show you could do the job and do it right and you'd get hired almost immediately. Daryl wasn't bothered about people's back stories and problems they'd had in the past, he'd been in that position before and felt lucky he got himself in a job let alone one he enjoyed so he cut then some slack by being an employer that gave second chances to those who deserved them. There were some people he just couldn't employ, those he could tell we're lazy or just didn't give off a good impression, there were sometimes teenagers that came in that just presumed they'd get a job just from hearing from others that it was easy to get in. It was those ones that Daryl had to turn down, they usually acted too confident and cocky which was the personality traits that he seemed to clash with the most. He thought they were spoiled and he needed to give them a harsh lesson that they don't get everything in life the first time they try, they've got to work for it just like he did.

* * *

 

Daryl turned onto his side to reach for his phone on his bedside table. He grabbed the old iPhone that Glenn had passed on to him because his own flip phone was "around in prehistoric times", and checked for any notifications, of which were a missed call and a text from Rick and four messages from Glenn. He groaned as he unlocked his phone and clicked on the messages app to look at Ricks text.

 

 

> **Rick G ~** _you still on for tonight? give me a call._

 

"Shit" Daryl mumbled as he pulled his duvet off his body and then sat up and swung his feet round to dangle over the side of his bed.

 

He'd forgotten there were plans for him and Glenn to go to Ricks tonight to watch the football game. He didn't even like football that much, he didn't think Glenn did either but neither of them would ever admit to Rick just to keep him happy. He then opened the texts from Glenn.

 

 

>  
> 
> **Glenn R ~** _are you coming tonight?_
> 
> **Glenn R ~** _dude answer the phone_
> 
> **Glenn R ~** _it's 11am how can you sleep so long?!_
> 
> **Glenn R ~** _I'll just presume you've read this, I'll see you tonight!_
> 
>  

Daryl scoffed as he pushed himself off his bed which made a creaking sound and strolled into his kitchen. It was 12pm, he wasn't surprised Glenn asked how he could sleep so long - he was surprised himself, he never usually slept that well but he did get to sleep at around 4am so that was a factor that would be taken into consideration. It was too late to make breakfast so Daryl just grabbed some leftover BBQ chicken pizza he had kept in the fridge, probably not a good idea as he wasn't quite sure how old it was but he didn't have the time to make a proper lunch. He then switched on the kettle to boil some water and grabbed a stained coffee mug and took the spoon which was still laying in the coffee jar and scooped a rather large amount and dropped it in the mug.

Whilst the kettle was boiling he walked down his hall and into the bathroom, turning on the light and then opening the shower door and turning it on making sure it was still at the perfect heat setting and then grabbed a towel from the rack on the wall and hung it over the shower door. He then went back to his kitchen and filled his mug with hot water, opting for a black coffee in efforts to wake him up. After his coffee he went back into the bathroom and stripped off his clothes and hopped into the steaming hot shower. He stayed in the shower a little longer than he intended letting the warm water trickle down his face as he stared into the wall and hummed a soft song, pondering over life in general.

He always lost his train of thought in the shower it was a place to clear his mind (just like riding his motorcycle) and get the cogs in his brain whirring for some mental stimulation. He got out the shower and grabbed the towel from the door and wiping his face with it and then drying his body and tying it around his waist. His shoulder length dark brown hair now turned charcoal with the water, it curled up at the ends and left a trail of droplets along the hallway floor to the bedroom. He got changed into a short sleeve, dark blue plaid shirt with his usual black leather vest hanging on his back complete with worn down once white angel wings sewn on the back. He was rubbing his hair dry with the towel when he heard his mobile ringing. That's probably Rick he thought as he ran to his room to grab the phone before he had another five texts from Rick and Glenn about answering their calls. He answered just as it was away to ring off.

"Hey man sorry I was in the shower" Daryl rasped.

"It's 1pm, you gotta go to sleep earlier. You didn't answer Glenn either"

"I know, I've just had a long week is all. Deserve some sleep right?"

"Yeah sure.. Anyway I'm guessing you're still on for tonight so just come round at 6 or so. I'll be expecting a gift since you were so difficult to get a hold of" Daryl could hear the sarkiness in Ricks voice.

He scoffed "yeah, I'll see about it."

"Ok I'll see you later. You better be in time the game starts at 6:30, if you're not here it's your own fault if you miss a score"

"Yeah right see you later" Daryl replied as he hung up and launched himself onto his unmade bed.

He lay on his bed before turning over to stick his phone on the speakers on his bedside cabinet to give it some charge before rolling onto his back and closing his eyes deciding to take a nap.

* * *

 

Daryl woke up at 5:30pm. He jumped up revealing a damp patch on his pillow where his wet hair had been left to dry and then checked his phone to see that yet again he had a missed call from Rick and Glenn this time. He sighed as he pushed himself off the bed and pulled on his brown muddy boots and headed towards the door, grabbing his motorcycle helmet and leaving the house, locking the door behind him. There was a store round the corner from Ricks house which he stopped by to get the sort of offering that Rick had mentioned earlier. He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the engine, hopping off his bike and lifting his helmet from his head then entering the store. He strolled through the almost empty shop towards the candy isle to look for an acceptable gift but trying to avoid everyone in his path.

He hated going to stores, there was always too much people even when it was a ghost town. As he reached the candy isle he suddenly stopped. There was a younger man with long hair and big, rounded glasses staring at the Reeses chocolate section with wide eyes. He was wearing khaki shorts, Vans sneakers and a light blue oversized sweater with his hair sorted neatly in a bun on the top of his head. He looked familiar but Daryl didn't know why so he steadied his pace as he gradually got closer to the man, looking him up and down, before deciding he was taking too long and he didn't want to interact with anyone so he swiftly walked past him to the next isle, making sure to gently barge him to get some sort of reaction.

"Fuckin' hipster" Daryl mumbled under his breath as he searched for anything he could find at that point.

He made his way down almost every isle before he got to the chip section, he looked the stack of different chip brands up and down, rubbing his scruffy chin before tutting. He grabbed a bag of salted tortilla chips, something he knew for sure everyone would like and made his way to the checkout. He looked to see there were no queues at the self checkouts and so took his chance and speed walked towards one before he had to wait in line and talk to any of the workers at the other checkouts. He scanned the bag of chips and stuck his cash into the slot, taking the receipt before heading on his way. It was a gloomy day outside and looked like it was going to rain as Daryl looked up at the sky before placing his helmet back on his head and hopping on his bike.

* * *

 

 

Daryl arrived at Ricks at 6pm exactly. Glenn swung open the door seconds after Daryl knocked.

"Hey look who finally decided to show" Glenn exclaimed as he took Daryl into a hug which he reluctantly agreed to.

"Yeah, yeah, I brought a gift or whatever Rick was asking for. Sorry it ain't much but there was a dude taking far too long gawkin' at the Reeses" Daryl said in a mocking tone as he walked towards the couch Rick was already sitting on, too endorsed in the TV to look up.

"That's okay man, chips will do, Michonne bought some dip the other day, in the fridge if someone will get it" Rick said, still staring at the TV in front of him, eyes wide.

Glenn placed the chips on the table before going to fetch the dip Rick mentioned from the fridge and then also places it next to the of chips on the table which was already covered in empty packets of various snacks.

"Looks like you guys've been busy" Daryl said as he heard a crunch as he put his foot down onto an empty Doritos packet.

"Where is Michonne anyway, Carl too?" Daryl asked as he proceeded to kick the empty packet under the couch.

"Michonne went round to mine to see Maggie, they didn't want to 'interfere' with our 'guys night'" Glenn air quoted as he sat on the arm of the couch.

"Carl's at the cinema with his friends, should be back just after the games finished. Although, knowing him he'll probably stay out later and just not tell me about it" Rick informed.

Daryl was kind of bummed Michonne or Carl weren't home. Rick wasn't always the best company when it came to him watching football. Daryl wasn't really into it so would lose interest easily and at those times would go see what Carl or Michonne were up to. Glenn would manage to entertain him for a short while before slowly paying more and more attention to the TV until there was little to no conversation left.

* * *

 After the game the men continued watching any TV show they could find, finally settling on a channel showing endless re-runs of _Family Feud_. Carl had texted Rick telling him he was staying at his friends for the night and that he'd see him the next day, probably a good idea from the kid as his dad and Glenn were both quite a few beers down the line and were starting to slur their words and giggle like little school girls every time someone had a ridiculous answer for what was on the answer board in the show. They shouted answers themselves and drank some more each time they got one right to the point where Rick had fallen asleep on the couch, bottle in hand, snoring like a pig.

Glenn had at some point decided to take out a guitar and start playing the same song over and over until he wasn't even singing anymore and just managed to blurt out random slurred words. Michonne and Maggie had arrived some time after that, thanking Daryl for looking after their partners and profusely apologising for whatever embarrassing thing they'd said or done. Maggie put her arm around Glenn as he professed his undying love for her whilst walking out the house to the car parked outside. It would have been a nice moment had it not have been for Glenn getting almost dragged by Maggie out to the car as he had seemingly lost all ability to hold himself upright.

Michonne offered Daryl to stay over night which he politely refused as he needed to do stuff the next day, this was a lie, but he felt guilty and somewhat responsible for letting his two friends get into that state even if it was a Saturday night. Daryl said his 'goodbyes' and 'sorrys' and 'thank yous' for having him and left the house, hopping on his bike as he drove through the cool air in the darkness back to his house.

As he unlocked and walked through the front door he looked at his watch which read 1:43am, for once he was actually tired at an appropriate time as he heaved off his shoes and lay in his bed rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands. He woke up a couple hours later in the exact same position, still fully clothed and reached for his phone in his back pocket, this morning it had no missed calls or texts. Daryl sighed in relief.


	2. Chapter 2

People who knew Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon would have never thought that they would become as close friends as they are, being on completely different sides of the spectrum. Rick was a police officer and Daryl was just always involved with the wrong people so they were bound to cross paths one way or another, just not expected to become friends that way. Daryl's older bother Merle was certainly a character, one which was always causing disturbance in Ricks perspective. Daryl was just lucky enough to never be with Merle whenever he was caught selling overpriced drugs to college kids or just being a public nuisance in general.

* * *

 

Daryl remember the first time he was caught. He was sitting at home working on Merles bike when received an unexpected phone call from his brother asking if he could come pay a visit to the local police station. Daryl was a little startled at first, Merle was always careful not to get caught but he guessed luck was bound to run out at some point. It was when he arrived at the station he was introduced to officer Rick Grimes, he was in his early 30s then with short, curly light-brown hair and a chiselled, shaven face. Joint to his hip was a bulkier, taller man with dark black, curly hair, short but not as short as his companions, with dark eyes, his badge reading WALSH. Rick stretched out his hand towards Daryl waiting for him to shake. Daryl glared at him for a couple seconds before reluctantly grabbing hold of his hand and shaking it for as little length of time as possible.

"Hi I'm Officer Rick Grimes, this is my partner Officer Shane Walsh, you must be Mr Dixon's brother is that correct?" Rick enquired.

Daryl grunted, still keeping his glare on the two men, as he did a slight nod to indicate the officer was right.

"Now I don't know what anyone's told you so far bu-"

"Ain't been told nothin'" Daryl interrupted.

"Well it seems your brother has been causing some trouble at the local bar, now it ain't that serious but he'll be charged for the damages and he'll be staying here overnight. He told us to call you, we'll just need to take down a few of your details and ask a few questions if that's alright, it shouldn't take too long." Rick said, obviously this was a rhetorical question.

Daryl would have to answer some questions whatever outcome. He was already pissed that he was down here and that Merle was having to pay for the shit he did with money he didn't have. He knew he'd have to chip in, his brother had a way of manipulating him into helping him do things he didn't necessarily want to be involved in and now he had these two damn officers asking him some stupid questions he wouldn't want to answer or he'd be in jail himself. That being said he followed the two men into a room, much like the ones in movies where a criminal would be interrogated.

For being caught up with bad people all the time Daryl had never actually been in a police station before, he was surprised he hadn't yet, it was a small fear of his. He didn't want to be the kind of person he was but he was surrounded by people who made him that way, he always thought he would end up in jail some how and just never leave. When he was younger he sometimes thought of getting caught doing something on purpose to escape from his house, even for a short length of time. Fortunately it hadn't come to that in the end and things had gotten slightly more manageable since his dad died but there were times where he wished he had taken that route just so he wouldn't have had to suffer all the emotional scarring he'd have for what he thought would be for the rest of his days. The room was small and dark with a spotlight hanging over a table with a chair on each side, Rick sat in one whilst Shane stood next to him, watching Daryl closely.

"Take a seat, would you like a drink? Water? Coffee?" Rick asked.

"Nah" Daryl replied in a gruff tone.

It very much seemed like a good cop, bad cop situation. Rick came across as calm and collected whilst Shane was staring down Daryl, watching his every move with an expression which was hard to read. He kind of intimidated Daryl but he did his upmost best not to show it.

"Now we need to ask if you know Merle has anyone he doesn't get a long with or-"

"It's Merle he don't get along with nobody, guys an asshole" Daryl blurted before he could let Rick finish.

"Yeah we gathered that" piped up Shane as he smirked at Daryl.

"You know why he'd start a fight with someone?" Rick continued.

"Nah, probably someone just pissed him off, ain't like it's the first time it's happened and probably ain't the last"

"Well it better be the last or he'll be staying a lot longer than a night here, he'll be packing his bags for a long time coming" Shane stated.

Daryl knew deep down that this was true but the way the man said it just boiled his blood.

"Hey man I ain't his guardian I can't be going around following him telling him what to do, it's usually the other way round. You can tell 'im all ya want he ain't gonna listen. If someone pisses him off he's gonna let them know." Daryl grumbled.

He was getting heated.

"That's not what we're saying here Mr Dixon. We need just need to know if he has any issues we can look out for and possibly prevent. We need to keep the community safe and it won't be if he doesn't get things sorted." Rick said, still keeping his calm tone of voice.

"Yeah well I don't know nothing, there ain't point in ya askin' why don't you ask him what his problems are." Daryl replied.

He tried to calm himself, he didn't want to get in any trouble, he was already in enough, just from being related to Merle Dixon he was in a constant state of trouble. He loved his brother there was no denying that but damn was it a tough love situation.

"Okay then I guess that's all we'll need for today. We'll call you back if anything else happens or we need to ask more questions but you can go on your way now." Rick told Daryl as he stood up from his chair.

"Thank you" he then said as Daryl stormed out the door.

"Yeah for what" Daryl mumbled under his breath as he made his way to the exit, he wanted out that place as soon as possible.

"What a surprise they're both difficult assholes, guess it runs in the family" he heard Shane state from down the hallway.

"Yeah he's had a tough time, I don't blame him for being difficult. It ain't every day your siblings brought to jail." He could hear Rick reply.

Good cop bad cop it certainly was.

* * *

 

That was the first encounter of many Daryl had of Officer Rick Grimes. The second time was worse. Daryl was taken down to the station for questioning because they'd found a packet of white powder in Merles back pocket. Thankfully they let him go after asking a few questions and told him that Merle would be serving an 11 month sentence, it wasn't until a couple weeks later Daryl was awakened at 8am with loud knocks at the door.

"Yeah yeah I'm comin" he grumbled as he opened the door and four officers were holding up their badge, two of them Rick and Shane.

"Daryl Dixon we are arresting you on the suspicion of having possession of illegal substances. You'll be taken down to the station for further questioning, you have the right to remain silent" Shane said as he grabbed Daryl and clicked the handcuffs onto his wrists.

Daryl put up a fight and struggled, cussing and lashing out until he was put in the back of the car whilst the officers raided his small house. He had a panic attack in the back of the car. He knew he didn't have any drugs hidden in his place, he was sure of that. But what he wasn't sure of is that if he knew Merle sold and owned drugs he would get arrested too. For all the times he'd thought about it when he was younger he didn't want it now. He didn't have anything to run from this time so had no reason to be in jail.

He tried to calm his breathing as he attempted to think of all the ways he could get out of this mess. He could straight up lie, that was probably the best option but he didn't know if they would believe him, and if they didn't then he'd get into more shit for lying. This had nothing to do with him it was all Merle, he didn't own any drugs, he didn't harass people because they didn't agree with him. He knew he was a shitty person but he could admit he wasn't as shitty a person as Merle. The two unfamiliar officers walked back to their car after a good 40 minutes of searching with nothing in their hands, this was a good sign Daryl thought. Just then Rick and Shane got into the car, also with nothing in their hands.

"Looks like you're not in as big a pile of shit as your brother, it's your lucky day." Shane smirked as Daryl watched him in the rear view mirror.

"Yeah, that don't mean you're not still in trouble, we don't know that until you answer some questions" Rick continued as he turned on the exhaust and the car rumbled to life.

Daryl didn't speak the whole car ride. His mind was like a carousel going round and round in endless circles of thought, mostly pessimistic thoughts. Whatever outcome Daryl thought of, each one ended badly for him. He was still trying to steady his breathing pace but thankfully none of the two officers in the front of the car had noticed, they were too busy executing small talk. When they got to the station Daryl was taken to the same dark, grey, spotlight room he was in the first time he visited the building.

They asked Daryl some questions, he lied about knowing Merle had the cocaine, thankfully that was one thing his brother had done for him. He must've have told the officers that nobody else knew he possessed the drugs, obviously knowing that the police would hunt Daryl down to question him. After they'd asked everything they needed to the officers left the room to place a verdict and left Daryl on his own for a couple minutes to collect himself. His breathing had picked up pace again as he began to prepare for the worst, the confined, dark, plain room wasn't helping his thoughts as he began to feel trapped. He still had handcuffs on and his wrists were chaffing and there was a visible cut on his left wrist from when he had attempted to punch Officer Walsh. Eventually the officers came into the room, sat down, and told Daryl that there would be no further investigations or charges and that he was free to go and that an officer would drive him home. Rick uncuffed him and led him to the exit.

Rick drove Daryl back to his house, the pair didn't exchange any words the whole journey until they reached the house.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, it's just part of the job." Rick sighed as he watched Daryl unbuckle his seat belt.

"You can come visit him any day from 12 til 1:30, if you'd like that. I'll see you around" he continued as Daryl climbed out of the car without a word being said.

He couldn't even look up, as much as he was relieved, he was about to break down any minute. As soon as the police car drove away Daryl didn't even get through the house before he collapsed on his front porch, sliding his back down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, head in his hands. He took his lighter and pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and fumbled with the box as he tried to pull out a cigarette with his shaky hands. He held it in his teeth and lit it as he took a long drag. A tear rolled down his face as he stared off into the forest.

It was times like these he was glad he owned owned the old family home. As much bad memories as it brought, it was away from everyone, isolated. Maybe it was a bad thing, to be in isolation all the time, but Daryl was a lonely person, always had been and believed he always would be. He was a walking mess. He had his problems, had them for as long as he could remember and wasn't going to get rid of them anytime soon. At least smoking was a sort of release for him, it calmed his nerves enough for him to open the door and go inside. He lay in his couch for a while, staring at the ceiling before eventually falling asleep.

* * *

 Over the next 11 months Daryl would go visit Merle every other day, it was then he began to see more of Rick and understood what he was like. Rick seemed to get Daryl and understood his limits, if he heard Merle or any of the officers giving him a hard time he'd take matters into his own hands to stop a fist fight from happening. Daryl didn't despise the man anymore, he didn't see him as a friend but he respected him as a person. He got it that he was doing his job and he was payed to keep things calm and safe so he had every right to shut Daryl down whenever he made a threatening comment to another officer if they pushed his buttons. One day, around the 5th month of Merles sentence, he met Rick and his family at a store, as best as Daryl tried to avoid him eventually they bumped into each other and there was nothing he could do to get away. It was the first time Daryl had ever seen Rick wearing anything other than his uniform. It was strange, he seemed kind of out of place. Grabbing onto hIs hand was a boy, around 10 or 11 with brown floppy hair and bright blue eyes the colour of his dad's, he hid behind Rick peeping out from behind his back to get a better look at Daryl. Standing next to Rick holding onto a shopping cart was a tall woman with long dark brown hair, she smiled at Daryl.

"Who's that Dad?" Inquired the little kid, still hiding behind his fathers back.

"This is Daryl he's my.. Friend" Rick paused a second before saying the word then gave a cautious smile towards Daryl.

Daryl nodded in return as Rick introduced his wife, Lori and son, Carl to Daryl. They exchanged a few words before parting ways and Daryl left he store. He couldn't stop replaying Ricks words in his head. Did he really see him as a friend? He'd never really had a friend before now that he thought about it, but he liked the term and that Rick had told his family that they were friends. It made him feel less worthless, that someone gave a shit about him. The people he would've maybe called friends weren't exactly what an ideal image of "friendship" was like, most of them were Merles cronies, none of which where friendly. They always teased Daryl for no reason and pressured him into doing things he didn't want to do. He was like their pet monkey getting poked and prodded for their own entertainment. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he placed his helmet on and straddled his motorcycle to drive back home.

Over the next few months Daryl become closer to Rick. They went out for drinks together and Daryl become more and more comfortable around him to the point where he'd talk about things he would've never talked about before. Parts of his past, only the good memories, he wasn't ready to tell anyone the full truth, he enjoyed telling Rick a story or two from his teen days of getting into all sorts of trouble. He loved watching Ricks facial expressions as the stories got tense and would build up to a conclusion.

That's what he liked about Rick. He was a good listener, he understood Daryl so well and would always know how he was feeling just by the way he looked or acted that day, it was something that Daryl hadn't been familiar with before, he'd never had someone know him so well. As much as he enjoyed telling Rick some stories he preferred listening to Ricks own shenanigans. Being a police officer for 10 years brought its fair few tales, Daryl was a listener and observer. Rick always got super into his story telling and would become very gesticulative, hands flailing almost knocking their drinks over more times than once. He remembered the day when Rick invited him to the bar for drinks. He was acting strange, he seemed all giddy and suspicious as if he was hiding something.

"We're here for a celebration" Rick smiled at Daryl as they sat don't at the bar.

"Lori's pregnant, Carl's gonna have a little sister!" Rick exclaimed.

He had the biggest smile on his face as he took Daryl in for a hug.

"Congrats man" Daryl said as he patted his friends back.

He couldn't have been happier for him, Daryl already knew Rick was a great father so had no worries at all. He was excited for him, he did have quite the soft spot for babies, it was something for him to look forward to as well.

"She's 5 months down the line, I wanted to tell you earlier but she wanted to keep it quiet" Rick explained as he took a swig of his beer, smile still plastered on his face.

"How does Carl feel about it?" Daryl asked.

He already knew the answer, Rick had told him Carl always went on about wanting a brother or sister to keep him company.

"He's ecstatic, just as excited as I am" Rick replied.

The two friends stayed in the bar a little longer than usual that night, when Daryl eventually got home he went to bed with a smile on his face, he thrived on seeing the people he loved be happy or passionate about something, to say he had a good nights sleep that night would be an understatement.

* * *

 It wasn't until a couple months after that that Daryl had noticed a change in Rick. He didn't seem excited anymore or as chirpy as he and been since he had announced the news of the baby, Daryl knew something was wrong but he thought he should wait until Rick decided to tell him rather than bringing it up himself. Eventually, one night Rick showed up at Daryl's door looking the worst he had ever seen him. He was pale faced and his eyes were bloodshot with bags under, he just looked really tired and ill.

"We need to talk." Rick mumbled as he made his way through the front door, avoiding any eye contact.

He walked into Daryl's front room and paused, staring at the wall.

"Lori and I.. Uh.. We're getting a divorce" Rick stuttered.

Daryl could hear the pain in his voice, his heart started pounding, he didn't even know what to reply with. He'd never really had to comfort anyone before, it was usually him being comforted by someone else, usually his mother. She would comfort him as a kid when things got out of hand with his dad. Daryl would see things he wasn't meant to see, he saw him hurting her, shouting at her, saying things that nobody should ever say to someone they were once in love with. That's why Daryl never really believed in love, he hadn't seen it before and every time he thought he'd seen it, it never ended well. And here was another example of one of those times.

"She... She told she cheated on me. She's being cheating on me for a couple months now. With... With Shane." Those words hurt like a bitch to Daryl.

The more he thought about it, the more surprised he was he didn't realise it sooner. Rick had hardly seen Shane the past few months, he'd always spend time with Daryl. Shane was meant to be his best friend, his partner, Rick mentioned to Daryl a month or so ago that he'd gotten a new partner because him and Shane just weren't working well at that moment. Daryl had just brushed it off as a simple falling out or Ricks boss just wanted the switch things up. Daryl couldn't even comprehend how shitty Rick must feel. It hurt him too, he didn't want to see him upset but knowing that Rick trusted Shane, he was his best friend, and for him to do that made Daryl want to find the guy and punch him as hard as he could. Also for Lori to do that made him even angrier, Rick absolutely adored her, he hadn't seen love like that before and now she fucked him over completely.

"She told me... She told me she doesn't even know if the baby is mine." Ricks voice broke at those last words as he slumped down onto the couch and placed his head in his hands.

Daryl immediately sat down next to him and slung his arm over him and rubbed his back. That always seemed to comfort him whenever his mother did that, hopefully it would mimic the effect on Rick.

"I told her we could go to counselling to help mend it for Carl, but she just told me she didn't want that and that she was sorry. She told she she didn't love me anymore and that was all that could be said"

Daryl was lost for words. What can you say to that? He didn't think there was any appropriate reply. He couldn't tell Rick it would be alright, that would be lying, he knew it wouldn't be alright and it never would but he couldn't tell him that either.

"Does Carl know?" He ended up asking.

He wasn't sure if he should've asked, he didn't want to make Rick anymore upset than he already was.

"He heard us arguing. I went to his room to see him and he told me he didn't want to speak to his mom ever again. I told him that that wasn't fair but he's a smart kid, he knows exactly what happened. Shane was like an uncle to him, I don't know what's goin' through his head right now"

"Kid has a right not to want to talk to her again, I sure as hell wouldn't either" Daryl replied, starting to feel the anger rise from inside him.

It was that point where Rick broke down into tears. Daryl didn't know what to do, he'd never had to comfort anyone crying before, should he have said that part about Carl? Although it was true maybe it was a little too harsh. He felt shitty he didn't mean to hurt Rick even more, now he felt it was partly his fault as to why he was so upset.

"Hey man, you'll get through this. You always do." Daryl finally settled on saying.

He wasn't sure if this sounded patronising or not but at least it wasn't complete silence.

"Thank you." Rick said as he looked Daryl in the eyes and brought him in for a hug.

Daryl knew he meant it by the tone of his voice. He patted Rick on the back before letting go of the hug.

"You can stay for the night if you want to, you can take Carl too" Daryl offered.

He thought that a night away from home was maybe the best idea.

"I think... I think that would be nice. Thank you" Rick replied, voice hoarse.

They both went to pick up Carl, who didn't take any convincing to stay away from the house. The kid had very little sympathy for his mother, he felt as if she'd betrayed him and his father completely and had lost respect for her. Rick and Carl ended up staying at Daryl's for almost a week before returning back to their home. Rick was ever so grateful. Daryl and Carl got along really well, Daryl taught him how to play cards and how to track out in the woods and in return Carl brought his PlayStation and taught Daryl how to play a couple games. He wasn't great at it, his finger coordination wasn't the greatest but he enjoyed it once he got a hang of the controls, it entertained Carl too seeing the man getting flustered whenever the 10 year old won against him.

Rick liked watching the two of them interact, it was a nice distraction and it was good to see Carl smile when he knew the situation they were in was daunting. It felt weird when they left Daryl on his own and went back home. It was nice to have company for a while, especially when said company wasn't his ignorant brother, getting on his nerves every other minute. In a way he was sad to see them go, even though he knew it probably wasn't the last time they'd be at his house, there was plenty more times for that but he missed the constant company.

* * *

 Over the next couple weeks as the divorce was finalised Rick had been spending more time with Daryl. He still wasn't back to his normal self but Daryl saw him making an effort and even more so when Carl was around. He was such a great father, Daryl admired him, he wished that his father had been even a quarter as good as Rick was to Carl but unfortunately he couldn't have been came close to that. Rick had also cut down his shifts at work to spend more time with his son, another thing Daryl admired him for.

He would do anything, absolutely anything for Carl and to could see that just from observing them for a short time, listening to their conversations, watching their actions when they were around each other, Daryl found it endearing. In the end Lori and Shane had moved in together and decided they would leave the state. Rick lost the court case for custody of the baby, he didn't even get to see her once she was born, Lori refused to get her DNA tested and just believed that the baby was Shane's and nobody could say otherwise. This broke Rick, he got bad again for a while before he decided to go to therapy. He wanted to get through this for his and Carls sake and so thought it was the right thing to do, and he was right as it was there he met Michonne.

Daryl started to see a change in the next few months after that, he seemed a lot happier and one night he came to see Daryl and was all giddy, the same mood he was in the night he gave the news about the baby.

"I've got myself a date" Rick smiled as he poured a bag of chips into a bowl in preparation for his and Daryl's movie night ahead.

"Nice, who's the unfortunate gal?" Smirked Daryl, him and Rick wound each other up all the time, testing each others limits.

"Hey at least I can get myself a date" Rick retaliated.

"Her names Michonne, I met her at the therapists office, a real romance story I know right... We're going out for dinner in Friday." Rick expanded.

"Nice hope it works out." Daryl responded.

He didn't really know how to feel about Rick dating someone. Of course he was happy for his friend, seeing him happy rubbed off on Daryl and made him feel the same way, but he just didn't really know how he felt. He didn't think he was jealous, he'd never really been bothered about dating and such before, he'd been on a few dates, most of which ended disastrous or he just didn't reply to any of the calls he received because he didn't like the girl but seeing Rick find someone made him feel something.

Maybe he was upset because Rick wouldn't be spending as much time with him as he had been lately, it was nice being in his presence. That was probably it Daryl thought. Yeah that was definitely what it was, Daryl relaxed more as he decided that's what he was feeling, he was sure of it, or he thought he was. But then he'd never been upset about Rick not spending time with him before? He wasn't with him 24/7, actually he was spending less time with Daryl over the past few weeks than he had been before but Daryl just guessed he hadn't noticed until now. Maybe he was jealous? He could admit Rick wasn't a bad looking guy, his chiselled cheekbones and all round charm and confidence made him all the more likeable, he wouldn't have found it hard for people to be attracted to him. Was Daryl attracted to him?

"No" Daryl thought, he couldn't be, Rick was his friend, he was just a little upset because he wouldn't be paying as much as his full attention to him as he had been these past months.

Daryl pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind and tried to be happy for his friend. He deserved this, he'd been in a bad place and he deserved to get away from there and he was glad he'd found someone that might change things for the better.

"Have you told Carl?" Daryl inquired.

"No not yet, I don't think I'll tell him unless things get more serious, I'm not sure how he'd react if I'm honest, do you think it's maybe too soon?"

"Nah man, if it feels right then go for it, you deserve it right now." Daryl encouraged.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she has a few friends I can hook you up with" Rick smirked and winked at Daryl, Daryl punched him in the arm in return.

* * *

 A few months past and Merle was now finished his sentence, Daryl wasn't sure how to feel. He was happy his brother was out, but he didn't know if this would change things. Merle knew that Daryl and Rick had become friends, much to his dismay, he and Merle were mortal enemies accordingly and Daryl wasn't sure if he could ever have them in the same room together without starting a fight. Daryl was at least thankful that his brother wouldn't be staying with him, he had an old trailer that he much rather preferred to accommodate that the comfort of a real bed in a proper house.

Merle had decided that he was going to stop selling drugs and try to keep himself out of trouble from now on, Daryl found this hard to believe and he was in shock when his brother told him he'd landed a job at a motorcycle store in the city. Daryl was in envy for a while; he'd have loved to work in a motorcycle store of all places, it was also weird that for once his brother was actually achieving more than him, it was making Daryl oddly jealous, a feeling that he rarely felt. Apart from that, he was pleased to see his brother trying to make a change, something that he'd kind of wished he'd have started earlier.

* * *

Two months after Merle was released, Rick showed up at Daryl's door on a rainy evening. Daryl was confused when he realised Rick was wearing his officers uniform and had driven there in his police car, he hadn't done that since the first few times they'd met. Rick looked morbid, he couldn't look Daryl in the eyes as he walked through the door and rubbed the back of his head. When he told Daryl the news, he couldn't believe it, he kept denying it. He laughed at first when Rick told him, he thought it was a joke or his friend was trying to play a sick prank on him and his brother was in on it. But as the news began to seep in Daryl's vision went fuzzy as he slumped to the floor, his whole world crashing down on him. Merle was dead. Rick told Daryl that he had gone to a bank and an armed robbery took place, he stood up to the criminal and was killed whilst trying to create a distraction for everyone in the bank could escape. Rick told him that there's nothing he could've done, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time but he died trying to save people, he died a martyr which was very honourable.

"I was meant to be there" Daryl rasped.

"It was meant to be me, I had to go to the bank to get money to pay taxes but he offered for me. This is me I should've been there" He continued as his voice kept breaking.

"This isn't on you Daryl" Rick replied.

"Hey..." He waited til Daryl looked into his eyes. "It's not on you."

His words comforted Daryl a little more, but he would never believe them. Merle was his only family left, he didn't have any uncles, aunts, nephews, cousins. He had no blood family left, only him, sure he didn't have the greatest relationship with any of his family but Merle was his brother, they'd gone through so much shit together that nobody else would ever understand. Why him? He thought. Why out of everyone was he the only one left, he didn't do shit to deserve it, it should've been him at that bank it should've been him that was killed.

Daryl's mind was racing, he was distraught and angry at himself at the same time, he was angry he hadn't been there instead, he was angry that someone murdered his brother for what in return? Rick said they'd caught the three men involved, why did they need to kill Merle, his death was unjustifiable, they gained nothing from it, that made him angrier. How dare they take someone's life from them when they would achieve no personal gain from it. Before he knew it Daryl had stood up and punched the wall, making a hole. All he could remember was looking at his bleeding hand before his vision became blurry and he faded into darkness, the next thing he knew he had woken in his bed with his left hand in a bandage. Rick had told him he'd passed out, probably from the shock, and said that he just needed time and rest. Daryl eventually got back to sleep with his mind whirring through all the emotions.

* * *

 It was after that things started getting bad again. Daryl couldn't control his thoughts, just as things were starting to go right for him the world slapped him in the face and told him a big _"fuck you"_. He should've known it wouldn't last long, nothing good ever lasted for him. People left him, bad things happened or he just began to despise himself again. He didn't have the guts to tell Rick, he acted as if he was doing okay and he was getting through but the minute Rick left him he'd self destruct, he'd storm round the house breaking things and would sometimes harm himself. He'd put out his cigarette on his skin, he found it as a release and a punishment for himself. He stopped wearing short sleeves to hide any evidence from Rick, he knew it would break him. Rick had been trying his hardest to be there for Daryl like he was there for him when Lori had left him.

Daryl felt bad lying to Rick, telling him he was okay when he wasn't, but he thought it was for his own benefit, he didn't want to upset him anymore. As much as he helped there wasn't really anything that could stop Daryl from feeling the way he felt. Rick had suggested therapy, he said that it had worked for him so maybe Daryl should try it out but he was swift to refuse, he didn't want to tell someone he didn't know all his problems, he didn't think anyone would ever understand. He did get better over time, very slowly, he still had days where he felt more than others and some days he didn't feel a sense of sadness or guilt at all, he was back on his feet within a month or two of the incident.

* * *

 By then, Rick had started a proper relationship with Michonne. Daryl had to admit he really liked the woman. She got along with Carl so well and she was a complete badass. She worked as a lawyer and trained in martial arts with a katana in her spare time. Daryl had never in his life heard of anyone have that for a hobby, it kind of brought out his inner _'Kill Bill'_ nerd.

Rick had told them that he and Michonne had understood each other from day one. Michonne had unfortunately lost her husband and little boy from a horrible car accident, when she initially told Rick this he immediately felt guilty as he felt as if his situation was less of a problem that he was making it out to be. Michonne noticed this and had told him that he had a right to be where he was, everyone's problems are best solved, no matter how big or small they may be. Daryl had thought that Rick and Lori were perfect for each other, but he hadn't seen Rick and Michonne. He could tell that Rick really loved her and the feeling was mutual between both parties, although he wasn't really sure if they'd told each other that yet. He really believed they would do anything for each other, and Michonne became a fantastic mother figure for Carl, they adored each other. Seeing Rick come from the state he was in to being the happiest Daryl had ever seen him gave him the boost he needed and hope that maybe one day that could be him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and next are both kind of filler chapters just to give an idea of Daryl's past and explain a little more about him. Once again hope you enjoyed and speak to me on tumblr @yikespinkman !!


	3. Chapter 3

It was through Michonne that Rick and Daryl met Glenn. Michonne and Maggie had been friends for a couple years now after meeting through university as they were on the same course. Her and Glenn had been dating for four years once at the time they'd met Rick and were planning on getting married that year. Daryl had heard Rick talk about Glenn a few times, mentioning that they needed to meet up as he thought they'd get along well. Daryl was skeptical of course, the one thing Rick seemed to get wrong about Daryl was his taste in friends.

There was many a time where Rick had introduced him to some of his old friends that he'd mentioned before saying how great they'd get on together and then by the end of the night Daryl despised them. Most of the time it was because they were far too comfortable and happy, he didn't get that at all, they were too nice. He guessed that he liked people that played hard to get, wether it be a friend or a romantic interest if there ever were, he'd much rather become friends with someone who was a little shitty, something he could relate to, rather than all of the chirpy people Rick seemed to think he'd like.

Of course he would never tell Rick that he didn't like them, he'd maybe ask a few questions or say they were too much of a certain trait but he didn't admit that he down right couldn't stand them. This was why when he met Glenn when Rick decided they should all go get drinks together, he wasn't surprised to find that he was much like most of the other people Rick had introduced him to.

He was always in a good mood, talkative and just one of those all round nice guys, Daryl hated it. He didn't understand how someone could be happy all the darn time and for what reason? Like he knew that there were things to be happy about for Glenn but Daryl was being extremely difficult to get along with and he still treated him the same and didn't stop trying to make conversation. He asked him lots of questions and didn't get irritated when all Daryl gave was one word answers and soft grunts, he also never asked Glenn any questions back and he still didn't seem to mind. At one point, when Glenn went to the bathroom Rick asked Daryl if he was okay.

"Yeah 'm fine" Daryl mumbled.

Rick raised his eyebrows, "Really? You don't seem it, you're being a bit of a douchebag"

"Yeah well he keeps askin' all those questions, he's too chatty, doesn't wipe the grin off his face either, it's annoying" Daryl grumbled in return, not looking Rick in the eye.

"At least try to get along with him, thank god I warned him you were difficult because he'd probably just think you were being a dick" Rick said.

"Ain't being difficult, just don't get why he's so chirpy all the time" Daryl replied in a pissed off tone.

He knew what Rick said was right but wasn't going to admit that, he'd made his decision to be difficult and he wasn't going to change it, just to spite him.

"Please yourself edgelord..." Rick muttered under his breath.

Daryl was just away to ask what the fuck that was supposed to mean when Glenn returned from the bathroom, smile still spread across his face as he walked towards the two men. It was a long night for Daryl, with Glenn's endless number of questions and stories and nudges from Rick whenever he decided to be particularly uncooperative.

* * *

 

There were a few nights like that one until Daryl started to open up more and actually engage in conversation with the younger man. He knew he was being a douche, the kid was only trying to get along with him and he was damn sure trying his best. He was a nice guy and Daryl noticed this and so began to make more of an effort, much to Glenn's delight. His face lit up when Daryl actually replied to his queries with more than a grunt or a blunt reply, it was sort of endearing. Once he started listening, Daryl also found that he and Glenn actually shared quite a few interests.

They both enjoyed arts, Daryl particularly enjoyed photography, although he didn't think he'd ever told anyone. He loved taking photos of anything really, but most often that not he found himself taking pictures of the things he held dearest in life and things he thought were beautiful. There were many pictures on his camera of the forest, his motorcycle, pretty sunsets, he also had a few candid photos of Rick and Carl there too. He hadn't told Rick this, he thought he'd find it creepy or weird or would poke fun at him for it. Deep down he knew he wouldn't, Rick was always careful with what he said to Daryl, he knew that some subjects he wouldn't dare speak of.

Daryl found out that Glenn was more into actual drawing than photography but he did have a major in it, which Daryl was a little jealous of. Glenn was working on his own comic book, supposedly he had been doing the same comic for months now, Daryl didn't ask what it was about but the the subject of comics brought his attention. He became even more envious of Glenn when he found out he worked in a comic book store, this was where he met Maggie.

She was actually in the store to buy a present for her then boyfriend. Glenn had given her some recommendations and was then flabbergasted a few weeks after when Maggie had turned up to the store with almost 100 comics asking if he wanted to put them in the store as her now ex-boyfriend wouldn't be needing them anymore. Glenn gratefully took the box and was giddy afterwards when he found that the beautiful woman had left a note with her phone number at the bottom, he felt extremely lucky.

Anyway, they ended up hitting it off and the rest was history etc etc. Daryl had always been a low key comic book nerd, he loved them. He used to save up all his spare money as a kid just to use in his local comic book store. _The X-Men_ series was his favourite, Wolverine was his favourite character accordingly, there was just something about him that drew Daryl to him. He wasn't even sure if anyone knew about his love for comic books either, sure probably Merle had when they were younger but he probably thought it was a phase that he'd grown out of but if you raided underneath Daryl's bed there was still boxes filled with comics from when he was a kid to now. He was pretty sure that he wasn't going to tell Rick that or he'd never hear the end of it.

* * *

 After a few couple months, Glenn, Rick and Daryl had become really close friends. Daryl felt bad for doubting Glenn to begin with but it turned out he was really great to be around, he was really funny and always made Daryl giggle, a difficult objective to achieve, and he was also a great advice giver and a really nice person. Daryl had visited the store Glenn worked and had each made a mutual pact to not tell Rick of Daryl's hobby as long as in return Daryl went over to Glenn's house to watch all of his superhero/sci-fy movies and shows with him and let him geek out about them afterwards.

This wasn't actually a bad thing after all as Daryl enjoyed the company and liked being able to speak freely about his interest without feeling embarrassed by it, he loved going in depth with the movies and TV and he was glad that Glenn was just as endorsed as he was. They had debates and theories that they would share with each other and basically became like a two person film club scheduling their next movie date each week as per say. The two found it funny that Rick was completely oblivious to the whole thing, Glenn had asked Maggie not to tell him or Michonne for _"reasons she wouldn't understand"_ and she reluctantly agreed.

It was nice for Daryl to have a friend other than Rick. Of course he still loved Rick but he couldn't be with him 24/7 and he had a family to be with and even though they were the closest friends they were also complete opposites, so it was nice to have Glenn as a friend who he had common interests with and could spend time with if Rick was busy and vice versa. He was slightly overwhelmed at the thought sometimes of having two best friends he could never have asked for, from him being a lone wolf, in isolation for most of his childhood, he was ever so grateful that he had finally found people he could confide in and they could do the same for him. Sometimes he had to take a step back because he was shocked he could find not one but two people that trusted him and enjoyed being in his company and that he knew cared about him, it was rare, he thought, to find anyone quite like them and he couldn't be more thankful.

* * *

 Daryl ended up getting invited to Glenn and Maggies wedding at the end of the year, of course he agreed to going, he wasn't going to let down one of his best friends but he was very reluctant. He hated big events with lots of people and the pressure to look presentable, he wasn't the most fashionable guy and would easily go at least a week without showering if it was socially acceptable. He was a little embarrassed about the whole thing as he had to ask Rick if he could borrow a suit, he'd never owned one before, he'd never had the need to but of course Rick willingly agreed and picked out a plain black suit with a black tie and white shirt. Daryl tried it on and was a little awkward coming out of the room to show Rick how it looked, the suit jacket was a little too tight and was really making him uncomfortable as it didn't help his broad shoulders move even a touch.

"How's it feel?" Rick smiled as his friend walked into the room.

"Tight." Daryl replied bluntly as he fidgeted in the jacket, trying to adjust the shoulders to make it any more bearable but failing miserably.

"Hey, lose the jacket I have something else" Rick said as he walked towards his closet and started shifting around all his clothes trying to look for something more Daryl's style.

"Here" he said as he handed Daryl a black waistcoat.

Daryl hesitantly took it and threw it on the bed whilst he tried to yank off the suit jacket. He put on the waistcoat and buttoned it up, tugging at the bottom to shift it into place.

"Definitely more your style" Rick said as Daryl looked at him for reassurance.

"Take a look in the mirror, see how you like it, I'm gonna get a drink, you want?" Rick said as he stood up from his seat on the bed and walked out the door.

"Nah m'fine" Daryl replied as he walked towards the roof height mirror in Ricks bedroom.

He stood in front of it and adjusted his tie. He almost didn't recognise [himself](http://67.media.tumblr.com/f8a11f282e23016dfb616857a577c355/tumblr_mw73kz3X8M1s3vekho6_1280.jpg), he'd never ever worn something so expensive and just nice looking, he looked smart for once, like a successful business men or just someone who definitely had their shit together, someone not like him. He was almost upset at the fact that it had taken him almost 40 years to ever get to wear something this nice and look good for once, but the sadness soon passed as he then felt a sudden surge of confidence. He could admit that he looked nice, something that he'd nerve felt before, and that he didn't feel as unattractive as he felt every time he saw himself in a mirror which is why he always usually avoided looking into reflective surfaces. He almost felt like he was going to a wedding, well, he was but he felt as if he was going to his own wedding, that was the only time he'd ever have thought he'd wear something so fancy and he really liked it.

"You like it?" asked Rick as he returned with a glass of soda in hand.

"Yeah, 'ts nice" Daryl replied as he began to unbutton the waistcoat.

"Great, then you can keep it afterwards, I've got plenty more suits, haven't worn that one in years anyway so I won't be needing it"

"Shits expensive, can't let me keep that" Daryl retaliated.

He felt bad taking the suit without giving Rick anything back in return.

"Nah man, it's a gift from me to you, you might need it another time so you might as well keep it instead of just borrowin'" Rick swiftly replied.

"If you're sure you don't need it"

"Positive"

"Okay, thank you" Daryl still felt bad about agreeing to keep it but he knew his friend wouldn't give in until he had the suit hanging up in his house somewhere.

* * *

 

The day finally came for the wedding and Daryl was still feeling anxious as he made his way to the venue with Rick, Michonne and Carl. Michonne looked stunning, she was wearing a tight fitting red dress which accentuated her curvy body, Rick came wearing a black suit with a red neck tie and pocket square to match his dates dress. Carl was also wearing a suit, dark grey with a white shirt underneath the jacket finished off with a navy neck tie. The group walked into the church and took a seat on the pews, Daryl gave a small nod to Glenn who was standing waiting at the altar rocking back and forth fidgeting with his sweaty hands as he waited for his wife to be to appear.

Rick gave a thumbs up to Glenn as they sat down and mouthed a "good luck" as Glenn gave them all a nervous wave. Daryl had never seen him in this state, he was always so confident and chatty and standing up the at the alter in front of him he'd never seen him look so anxious, it made Daryl's heart flutter knowing that Maggie was making him feel such a way, he wondered if anyone would have the same affect on him one day. Eventually the time came and everyone had stood on their feet as the usual wedding music started playing and the front church doors opened.

Daryl had never been to a wedding before and was nudged by Rick when he didn't stand up at the same time as everyone else, he looked like a lost puppy. Everyone gasped and wowed as Maggie walked through the door, arm linked to her father Hershel's. She looked immaculate, her dress was like that out of a princess movie, [her hair ](http://www.sisalon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/weddinghairindorking.jpg)was curled and pinned back with a crown of white and pale pink flowers around her head, her dress was shoulder less with lacy sleeves that had floral patterns on them. [The dress](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1bK7gJpXXXXXNXXXXq6xXFXXX4/Vestido-De-Noiva-Renda-Vintage-Lace-font-b-Princess-b-font-font-b-Wedding-b-font.jpg) was fitted around her body and then fanned out at the waist and flowed as Maggie took each step, it was very much her style, elegant but not extremely fancy and she still looked beautiful.

Glenn couldn't wipe the smile off his face as she walked towards him, her younger sister Beth carrying her veil along with her being as delicate as she could. When she got to the alter she smiled at Glenn and Daryl could see him whisper _"You look beautiful"_ And he couldn't have agreed more with his friend, she really did look stunning, it made Daryl smile. He wasn't really a fan of the whole marriage thing but seeing how happy those two were together made him a lot less mad at the concept.

"You are now husband and wife, you may kiss the bride" the minister said as Glenn took Maggie into his arms, the whole audience cheered.

* * *

 "Man you really scrub up don't you?!" Teased Glenn as he walked towards Daryl and Rick at the wedding dance.

"I could say the same for you" Rick laughed as he brought Glenn into a hug.

"Congrats man, you did great" Daryl piped in as he gave his friend a congratulatory pat on the back.

"God I've never been so scared in my life I'm kinda glad it's over" Glenn sighed in relief.

" Well hopefully it's the first and last time you do it" Rick said as he nudged him in the shoulder.

"Hey don't jinx it! Okay I'll see you guys around I better get back to my wife" Glenn winked as he walked towards Maggie and both of their families tables.

"Yeah I should probably look for Michonne and Carl, God knows where they've went, you okay if I leave you here for a while?" Rick asked as he stood up from his seat at the bar.

"Uh.. Sure yeah" Daryl tried to sound chirpy, but being left to fend for himself at a party full of talkative people without Rick to do all the talking was one of his worst nightmares.

"Okay, I'll see you later, and promise me you'll actually try actin' like you're enjoyin' yourself" Rick lightly punched Daryl in the shoulder as he walked off.

Daryl turned round in his stool so he was facing the inside of the bar in hopes that nobody would think he was willing to start up a conversation. He took his shitty phone from his pocket and stared at it a while deciding what he could do, he didn't have much choices as the phone only had one game which was _Flappy Bird_ , entertainment at its very best. He sighed as he put the phone back in his pocket and took a sip from his drink, he'd need a lot more of those if he was going to survive the rest of the night. Around 45 minutes later and Rick still hadn't returned, Daryl considered just leaving the venue unnoticed but felt too bad and opted to wait it out.

"Glenn or Maggie?" An unfamiliar voice appeared to the left of Daryl as he heard the creaks of one of the bar stools being sat on.

"What?" Daryl mumbled as he turned around to see a bearded man, around his early thirties with dirty blonde/brown hair just past his ears wearing a plain white shirt and a red bow tie.

"Sorry, who are you here for? Glenn or Maggie?" The man explained his abrupt question.

"Ain't it meant to be both?" Daryl asked as he grabbed his glass of whiskey, palms suddenly sweating at the impromptu conversation.

"Well, yeah I suppose it is but we all met just one of them first right?"

"Uh, Glenn" Daryl replied as he took a sip of his drink.

"Hey, I was the other way round, Maggie went to school with me." The stranger said as he waved over the barman. "Can I get a beer please? Any brand will do I'm not fussy, you want anything? It's on the house?" The man looked at Daryl as he waited for a reply.

"Um.. Nah I'm fine thanks" Daryl replied, trying not to look him in the eyes.

"So how did you meet Glenn?"

"Mutual friend"

"Huh I'm surprised we haven't met before, sorry I forgot to ask your name?" The man smiled.

"Daryl... Dixon"

"Oh you're that Daryl! Yeah I've heard about you, not to worry it wasn't anything bad. Anyway my names Paul but you can feel free to call me Jesus, it's usually the choice that sticks"

Daryl's mind whirred. He was taken aback that this stranger knew who he was, what had he heard about him if it wasn't bad things? He knew that Glenn wouldn't talk to someone Daryl didn't know about him, he trusted him that much, maybe his name was just mentioned a couple times? The perspiration in his hands was increasing as he swirled his glass around in doubt of what to reply with. Also, who the fuck kinda guy calls himself Jesus? Daryl was starting to dislike him already as he tried to think of an excuse to get himself out of the situation he was in.

"Uh... I have to go find my friend" Daryl grumbled as he abruptly stood up from his stool and grabbing onto the bar ledge as he stumbled on the leg of the chair.

His cheeks went bright red as he avoided looking at the younger man sat beside him.

"Okay, it was nice meeting you, maybe we'll see each other again" The man called out as Daryl went on his quest to find Rick.

 

Instead of finding Rick, Daryl ended up going to the bathroom and sitting in a stall for a good forty minutes, pondering when to stop being a pussy shit and going outside.

" _Why couldn't he be fucking normal?"_  He thought as he rested his head in his hands.

All those people out there and talking to one another like they've known each other for years and this one guy offers to buy him a drink and he suddenly forgets how to behave in a way that is deemed socially acceptable. Finally he plucked up the courage to get out the bathroom and face the mob of strangers in the large room. As he walked out he heard the DJ calling out for Maggie and Glenn to come to the centre to have their first dance, he glazed his eyes over the crowd to try and spot a familiar face and everyone crowded around the dance floor in the room. Suddenly loud music started playing and the lights went low as the only light was in the centre of the dance floor on Glenn and Maggie as they had their arms wrapped around each other, staring into each other's eyes.

_["The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtRIz7VocNs&spfreload=10) _

the music plays and Glenn and Maggie sway along together on the dance floor, Glenn a little sloppy on the footwork made it all the more endearing.

"Cute" he heard a voice say from beside him as he turned to see the guy from the bar watching the newly weds dance along to the sweet acoustic song.

Now that they were both standing, Daryl could see that the man was a quite a bit shorter than him, he wasn't tiny but the top of his head just made it up to Daryl's eye level. The song finished and everyone applauded as Daryl tried to make out Ricks face in the crowd.

"And now all the couples come to the dance floor, let me see you" the DJ said enthusiastically through his mic as around 15 different couples made their way onto the floor to join Glenn and Maggie.

"Man, I wish I had someone to dance with" Daryl turned around as he heard the bearded man speak up.

"That was an offer, if you didn't catch on" he said as he looked up at Daryl, a twinkle in his icy blue eyes.

"Nah, I'll pass" Daryl said as his cheeks rouged again and he tried to make his way away from the crowd.

"Dammit, maybe I was too forward" the smaller man cussed as he slapped his thigh playfully.

Daryl then spotted Rick and Michonne making their way up to the dance floor. He shifted his way through the crowd waving a hand at Rick to grab his attention.

"Hey man where you been? I haven't seen you all night!" A slightly intoxicated Rick blurted as he swung his arm around Daryl.

"I could ask you the same thing" Daryl mumbled under his breath.

"Hey I think I'm gonna go, got work tomorrow, can't be late. I'll just get a taxi home or somethin'"

"You sure? I can still give you a lift if you stay later" Rick slurred.

"Uh yeah you're not giving anyone a lift" Daryl replied as he pulled away from Ricks limp arm around his shoulder.

"Please yourself, I'll see you later!" Rick waved as Daryl turned around and walked towards the exit.

He felt bad for not telling Maggie or Glenn he was leaving but they seemed to be too busy on the dance floor so he decided maybe a thank you text would be the better option.

 Daryl walked out of the building and finally got some fresh air, he looked at his watch which read 12:35am. Good thing he didn't have work tomorrow, or he definitely wouldn't have been able to get up in time. Lying to Rick when he was drunk didn't feel as bad as lying to him when he was sober, he knew he'd understand Daryl's reasons anyway. He took a lighter and box of cigarettes from his trouser pocket and lit one up. God it felt good to have a smoke after all the shit he went through, it was a relief. When he finished his cigarette he took his phone out his pocket and was away to dial a taxi number when he realised he didn't have any money on him, he'd left his wallet in Ricks car.

"Shit" He definitely was not going back into that place if it was his last option.

It was only like a 45 minute walk from the place to his house so he sighed as he began his late night trek back home. When he was around 20 minutes away from his house he felt a splat of water hit his head.

"You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me" Daryl growled to himself as the heavens opened above him and rain poured down onto his bare arms.

Daryl started running as the rain got heavier and his hair began to turn an even darker brown the more soaked it got in the bad weather. Of course, of all nights it could've rained it had to be this one. The world just seemed to be out to get Daryl Dixon whatever the cost. Daryl finally got to his door and fumbled in his pocket to find his key, he unlocked the door and walked into his house, he could hear the squelching of the puddles in his shoes and he made a trail of drips towards his bedroom. He put his hands over his face and fell onto his bed still in his soggy attire.

"Fuck you nature"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I actually used the word 'edgelord' in a fic but I couldn't think of anything more dignified to replace it so i do apologise... 
> 
> anyway, hope you liked this chapter and a little more of a hint of Jesus. you'll be seeing more of him next chap! 
> 
> Also fuck Donald Trump.
> 
> speak to me on tumblr @yikespinkman


	4. Chapter 4

Paul Rovia grumbled as he flailed his arm out from underneath his covers trying to hit the snooze button on his alarm but failing miserably, knocking it off his bed side cabinet along with a glass of orange juice from the night before.

"Fuck" he groaned as he looked over the side of his bed to see the puddle of orange juice slowly make its way closer to his still ringing alarm.

He stared at it, not doing anything to solve the problem, as it got closer and closer to the inevitable destruction of his electronic alarm. He had such little energy that he just rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, alarm sound buzzing in his ears as he entered a state of drowsiness, disassociating with the world around him. The alarm stopped ringing as the stream of orange juice finally took it victim and Paul sighed. He'd have to get a new alarm.

He finally decided to get up but he stood up too quickly and his vision went blurry as he stumbled and stepped in the puddle of orange juice, it seeped through his socks, the ones that he had failed to take off before falling asleep the prior night. He picked up his alarm clock and stared at it as it dripped his orange juice back onto the carpeted floor, adding to the increasing collection of stains from various foodstuffs and art supplies. He put the clock back down from where he picked it up deciding to deal with it later as he squelched his way into the kitchen leaving a trail of orange juice footprints flicking the switch of his cheap coffee machine to on.

He grabbed a mug which read _["how does Jesus make his tea? Hebrews it."](http://images.linnlive.com/4a3fc06eb1b04726bf024759db185f2f/ca6052eb-fc02-4035-9a08-509d725e6a52.jpg)_ , a gift from Tara, as he placed it underneath the nozzle of the coffee machine pressing the button to start filling it up. While his coffee was being made he walked back to his bedroom, stepping in the orange juice alarm clock massacre yet again and uttering a curse under his breath and removed his phone from his charging cable. He pressed the home button to reveal his lock screen picture of him, Tara and Rosita in a photobooth wearing ridiculous costume glasses and goofy faces. He screwed his nose up as he read that his phone had only 12% charge left and groaned as he looked at the plug socket and realised he had forgotten to switch it on overnight, this day was not treating him well.

He re-attached it to the cable and turned on the switch hearing the buzz of the now definitely charging phone and then returned to the kitchen to collect his coffee. He opened the fridge and looked inside, he really needed to go grocery shopping soon as he stared at the ever lacking amount of proper food he had. He grabbed the Milk and poured a little into his mug and returned it to the fridge. He then added a teaspoon of sugar to the coffee in hopes to add to his caffeine intake in an effort to keep him awake for the rest of the day. He opened a cupboard and grabbed one of many snack pots of fruit loops and looked at the clock on his wall which read 6:30am.

 _"Shit"_ he thought.

He didn't have time for a shower anymore, he'd just tie his hair up. He grabbed his coffee and made his way back to his room, this time avoiding the orange juice puddle and sat on his bed, placing his mug on the bedside cabinet as he opened his pot of fruit loops. He grabbed his phone and unlocked it to see that he had a text from Rosita.

 

> _**Rosi ~** hey! Come to lunch with Tara and I today 1:30, our treat x _

Paul smiled as he replied to the message, accepting his friends offer. He finished his coffee and cereal and hopped out of his bed again to look for suitable clothes to wear to his work. He decided on his favourite sweater, light blue and slightly baggy, he may or may not have bought it two sizes too big, clothes were way more comfortable when they were baggy. The sleeves had faint paint stains on them which could never be removed and Jesus would never think of throwing out the sweater so kept it despite it being slightly ragged and constantly dirty. He also pulled out a pair of khaki shorts which he'd had since his gap year of travelling before going to university, they weren't as tacky as the sweater but also weren't the neatest of clothes. Paul looked in the mirror as he took a hair tie from his wrist and tied his hair into a neat bun, placed his large rounded reading glasses on his head and then slipped on his worn sneakers as he grabbed his phone, now at 28%, along with his charger deciding he could charge it up more at work.

He was away to leave when he suddenly remembered he needed to feed Neville and Leo. He walked into his _"art room"_ and picked up the box of live mealworms on his desk and walked over to Nevilles tank, opened the box and shoved it in before any escapee mealworms made their way towards his hand. He ducked down to watch his pet chameleon make its way towards the box.

"I'll see you soon buddy" he said softly as he tapped the glass and made his way towards the spare room to feed Leo his Siamese fighting fish.

Once he had fed both of his roommates he made his way to the door and grabbed his keys and backpack from the hanger on the wall and made his way through the door of his apartment. He walked downstairs to the first floor of the complex and exited through the door onto the narrow street as he began his walk to work.

* * *

 As Paul strolled out onto the street as the sun was still rising he reached in his pocket and pulled out his earphones, plugging them into his phone as he began to search for a song he wanted to listen to eventually settling on his usual [playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi9JF1t_wtYr-zRMr4ui2SJaJyeLDtdF_) to have a happier start to his already unlucky day. He got to his work bang on time at 7am and he swung his backpack off his shoulder as he unzipped it and dug around for the keys to open the small art supply store.

 _"Who even comes to an art store at 7am on a Saturday"_ He thought to himself as he pushed open the door and shoved the keys in his back pocket.

Once through the door he turned round and flipped over the sign pinned on the window so it read **_"OPEN"_** and made his way towards the back room to dump his bag. He took out his earphones and paused his music to reveal his phone now only had 8% so he grabbed his charger from his bag and plugged it into one of the sockets next to the light pink kettle in the small lunch room and felt his phone buzz as the charger got to work. He walked back through into the main shop and took a seat at the counter waiting for any first customer to appear as there really wasn't much else to do in the shop that day.

Seriously, _who does_ come to an art store at 7am on a Saturday?

The only time Paul had encountered customers that early just in general was when there were panicked students arriving on a weekday looking dishevelled and eyes strained, staying wide only with the help of five cups of coffee who had run out of supplies on a project that was due the next day. Something, being a former art student, he could relate to very dearly. Also, being an art student, was why he worked at the store in the first place. It wasn't full time, he didn't think he'd ever find a job he'd want to do forever, but it was the best he could find that fit his range of interests and academic achievements.

Being an art student meant taking a long time to find a job well suited to you, basically if you wanted to be a full time artist you'd need to be selling your work 24/7 but unfortunately for amateur artists like Paul, conducting sales regularly was a rather difficult thing to do. There wasn't anything wrong with the art, it was more just the challenge of getting it out to the world and being recognised was the problem and because of that problem it was hard to sell enough pieces to make a living for himself.

He still showcased his work at gallery open nights and shows and sometimes local cafes and stores would hang one of his pieces in their building somewhere with his name underneath and a bunch of business cards in case it were to catch anyone's eye. He didn't have a big amount of cash in the bank but Pauls job at the art store along with his art itself and his gigs with his band on the side kept him stable and gave him enough to look after himself and still have spare money for treats. Also, on the plus side, Paul enjoyed his job. It may be a little boring sometimes but he gets perks of getting discount on all the art supplies and sometimes gets them free which was more than he could've asked for when he got the job, being an arty person came with the burden of expensive supplies.

* * *

 Paul leaned his head back as he spun round on the office chair at the main shop desk whistling a tune whilst he waited for anybody to appear and occupy him for a couple minutes. He checked his watch to see that is was only 7:30am, he still had until 1pm til his shift was over and whoever was on today came to take his place. The shop wasn't too small but it wasn't huge so only usually ever needed one person on the job at a time as it was never really busy either, even then, Paul doubted he'd ever need another person to help him with customers at an art store, every customer was usually there for something specific that they could find themselves or were regulars who would come in for their monthly restock. He looked through the windows at the front of the shop from his seat and did some people watching. He saw the owner of the bike store leaning on the window of his shop as he took a cigarette up to his mouth, cupping his hands as he lit it up before returning his lighter to his Jean pocket. Paul stared as the dark, long haired man breathed clouds of smoke into the air. He was interrupted in his daydream by a customer clearing her throat, waiting for him to price her items as she placed a range of coloured acrylic paint tubes in to the counter.

"Sorry, is that everything?" Paul smiled as he stood up from his slumped back position on the chair.

He hadn't even heard the woman enter the store in the midst of his dream.

The woman replied with a sharp "Yes" as Paul handed her her bag of paint and she gave him the required amount of money.

"Thanks, have a great day!" Paul smiled as the woman rushed her way out of the store. As soon as she was gone, the smile wiped off his face as he slumped back into his seat again this time grabbing his sketchbook and a pencil as he looked out the window to see if the smoking man was still there. He saw the man drop his cigarette on the ground and stamp on it, twisting his foot on it as he turned to make his way back into his shop. Paul sighed as his potential portraiture model made his way out of his line of sight and then opened his sketchbook to a new page, thinking of something else to draw. He eventually settled on a photo of Neville he had stuck to the shops computer, like a mother would at the office with a picture of her child. He sketched out his pet chameleon and then grabbed a pack of watercolour paints and a few paint brushes with the plastic cover on along with a small empty yoghurt pot of water that had been left from the previous paint session. He placed it down on the desk and began to use the paint to add colour to his already wonderful [drawing](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/518262bce4b0ff1f837ca1d7/t/5367a877e4b0960410cbe827/1399302290594/veiled-chameleon.jpg) of his pet to pass some time whilst he waited for any more customers to arrive on his shift.

* * *

 Finally, the time came to 1pm and Gregory, the owner of the store and Pauls boss came to take over. Paul grabbed his stuff from the back room and made his way out the door and checked his phone to see he had a text from Rosita.

 

> _**Rosi ~** meet us at Alexandria! We already have a table x_

Paul locked his phone, putting it in his pocket and stopped outside his works door so he could swing his backpack off his shoulder balancing it on his lifted knee and dig around inside it to find his sunglasses. He placed them on his head and zipped up his backpack swinging it back onto his other shoulder as he made his way to _"Alexandria"_ Rosita and Tara's restaurant of choice. He reached the restaurant and saw that Tara and Rosi were already sat at a table outside, being shaded with a large beige umbrella to go with the colour scheme of the restaurant. Rosita was wearing large, rounded sunglasses and a tight fitted black dress, she'd always been the fashionable friend. And Tara had her hair in her usually pony tail wearing a blue plaid shirt and ripped light blue skinny jeans. His friends spotted him and waved as he made his way over to the table, returning their goofy smiles and wave.

"Wow, I feel underdressed" Paul stated as Rosita stood up to give him a hug.

"No, I'm loving the _hipster chic,_ I'm glad you could come!" Rosita replied as she sat down and took off her sunglasses, balancing them on the neck of her dress.

Paul then shifted over to hug Tara who pulled him into a very tight embrace.

"I haven't seen you in so long stranger" she exclaimed as she managed to lift Paul up of the ground slightly in her hug.

"It's only been like two weeks, plus I texted you"

"Yeah well it's still too long" Tara laughed as she let go and pulled out a seat for Paul to sit on.

Paul sat took his backpack from his back, throwing it under the table and sat down on the chair Tara had pulled out for him and grabbed the drinks menu from the centre of the table.

"So how was work?" Tara enquired as Paul examined the list of various drinks to choose from.

"How you think being in a tiny art store at 7am on a Saturday would be" Paul rolled his eyes.

"C'mon it can't be that bad, otherwise why would Gregory even be paying you if there was absolutely nothing you were doing?" Tara replied.

"Well I am getting payed to do something, it just sucks you get early shifts when legit nobody comes in at like 8:30pm, you know me I get bored easily." Paul answered as he sighed and placed the drinks menu back in the rack after deciding what he was ordering.

The waiter then came over and took their drinks orders, Paul a Doctor Pepper with no ice, Rosita an iced macchiato and Tara a berry smoothie. Paul then picked up the food menu and scanned it for anything that caught his eye whilst he waited for the waiter to come back with their drinks.

"So, how's your days been? Or how are they gonna pan out?" He asked his two friends as he tried to decide on what to order as the waiter returned with their drinks, Rosita requesting for a little while longer to decide on what they wanted to eat.

"Well this is the first time I've been outside in like a week so that's saying something" Tara smiled.

"Yeah, lucky you you had a week off work, this is like the fourth time this week I've paid for my own lunch" Rosita smiled budging Tara in the arm affectionately.

"Yeah you know because getting paid for being pretty all day is so hard" Tara rolled her eyes and smirked, she always playfully teased Rosita for being a model although she secretly loved looking at pictures of her friend looking beautiful as always.

Rosita gasped and punched Tara in the arm a little harder this time.

"Uh yeah and giving poodles posh, pretentious hair-dos is just as tough a job" she laughed.

"HEY! it's the owners that are the pretentious ones, don't blame the dogs. I'm sure if they could talk they'd be the first to object to any 'posh up-dos' anyway" Tara retaliated, grin spread across her face.

"Just so you know Tara, no offence, but if I ever get a furry animal you won't be the first choice of groomer" Paul piped in, smirking towards Tara.

Tara snorted and her eyes widened, "full offence taken, Rovia" she said as she took a sip of her drink.

Paul winked in Rositas direction as he watched her smirk at him for making the small dig towards their friend. She returned his wink as she covered her blushing cheeks with the food menu, pretending to browse her options for lunch. Paul had always known that Tara and Rosi had feelings for each other, but it was kind of a skinny love situation, they both loved each other but they were too shy to admit. He'd had countless drunk texts from Tara, confessing her love for their mutual friend and then the countless apology texts the next day begging him not to mention it to her.

The frustrating thing was that Rosita had also told Paul that she liked Tara back and as much as he was tempted he didn't tell her about Tara's mutual feelings. He wanted them to figure it out in their own time and even if that time had been long over three years, he didn't want to push them into something unless it was done on their own accord. He honestly just wasn't sure how either of them hadn't noticed yet, maybe they were just being humble and thought nothing of the affectionate touches and sweet, totally obvious flirtatious comments but it just made Paul pine for their non-platonic relationship even more.

* * *

 Paul left _"Alexandria"_ at around 3:30pm, stomach full with his large bowl of pesto pasta which was washed down with a bowl of mint chocolate ice cream. Being the gentleman he is, he offered to pay, refusing to let Rosita use the money from her purse, eventually she gave in and he paid for the groups lunch date with what money he had left in his bank account. Thank god pay day was tomorrow he thought as he made his way to the supermarket to stock up on food for his bare cupboards and fridge. He had underestimated the time it would take to walk to the store and immediately regretted his decision of walking to the store when he realised he had to haul his bags back to his apartment once he was finished. He was trying to save money but sure, maybe an Uber was calling his name in the distance tempting him to decide on the lazier mode of transportation home. He'd decide when he actually bought his foodstuffs.

* * *

 Paul walked into the store without any idea what he was actually there for, he just needed proper food, not junk, which was most of his diet. You wouldn't think he was a black belt in judo with a look at his diet, he just worked out to burn off all the calories he had consumed that day, he also had a fast metabolism which Tara forever complained about. She always got frustrated how he could eat so much shit and just not put on hardly any weight at all, whilst she worked her ass off to keep in shape every day. Talking of his bad dieting habits, he headed straight for the candy isle, he had a craving for peanut butter. He reached the isle and gawked at the tower of Reeses products in front of him. He swallowed the increasing amount of saliva being produced in his mouth as he stared at his favourite peanut butter snacks.

There were so many choices, he didn't know what to pick, cups, bars, mini cups, white chocolate, dark chocolate, the choices were limitless. He was knocked out of his daydream by a nudge to the shoulder and an almost inaudible grunt as a broad shouldered man made his way past him. Paul turned at the last second to see the back of the man walking away, shoulder-length dark brown, unkept hair, a little messy as Paul noticed he'd obviously been wearing the helmet held under his arm. He was also wearing a sleeveless dark navy shirt with a black, worn looking leather vest with dirty, once white angel wings on the back.

Paul immediately recognised the man as the motorcycle dude from the shop across the street from the art store, his sketching model that managed to escape him earlier that day. _"Huh"_ Paul whispered to himself as he watched the man turn down into another isle. He felt bad, he was probably taking too long looking at his choices of Reeses pieces to realise that he was postponing the other customers plans to get their own fix of peanut butter. He finally decided to buy two big bags of the mini cups and shoved them in his shopping cart. He then made his way to the dairy isle to get any products he remembered that he was low on.

Once Paul had found everything he needed he made his way to the cashier isle and placed all his items on the conveyor belt. His eyes widened when his total price for all his purchases came to a sum of $87.40. This was only meant to be a top up shop and he'd spent almost all his weeks earnings. He swiped his credit card hoping and praying that he had enough on his account. Thankfully his card wasn't declined and he left the store with four bags full. He stood outside the store placing the bags on the ground as he took his phone out of his backpack and called an Uber, thankfully he had enough in cash in his wallet to pay for that. The Uber arrived ten minutes later and Paul hopped in, telling the driver his destination.

* * *

 He arrived home at 6pm, great, just in time for _'My Strange Addiction'_ , one of Pauls many guilty pleasure shows. He turned on the TV in his living room as he began unpacking and putting away his shopping in his kitchen, thankfully it was open plan and there was just an island separating the kitchen from the living space so he could watch the TV while he was cooking or working in the kitchen. This weeks episode included a women who had an addiction to eating dry wall. It was cheap, crappy entertainment but Paul loved it, he loved all kind of reality TV shows, everyone would always poke fun at him but he enjoyed watching _'Keeping Up With The Kardashians'_ and _'Hells Kitchen'_ as much as he enjoyed watching all the popular _Netflix_ and _HBO_ series'. There was something amusing about Gordon Ramsey screaming ridiculous cuss words at clueless wannabe chefs, a little relief from the stress of real life came in over exaggerated reality show storylines.

After four episodes in a row of ' _My Strange Addiction'_ and a microwave noodle pot later, Paul turned off the TV, grabbing his MacBook to browse through all his social medias to pass some time. He remembered the biker from the shop across the street. He definitely recognised him from somewhere, Paul was terrible with faces but he'd definitely seen that one before he was almost sure of it, he just couldn't pick out where from. He shut off his laptop and sat in his art room for a while, watching Neville slowly make his way around his enclosure until he began feeling drowsy and made his way to his unmade bed. The orange juice disaster from the morning had left a stain on his carpet, another to add to the collection. He probably shouldn't have let that dry he thought as he cautiously stepped over the stain and sat on his bed, taking off his sweater, shorts and glasses and untying his now messy bun from his hair. He swung his legs onto the bed and pulled up his duvet right up to his chin, keeping a portion of it to hug as he slowly drifted off to sleep without the worry of waking up early for work in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I hope you like my headcanons and I for sure would be going to Tara's dog grooming services.. feel free to listen to 'Pauls Playlist'   
> https://playmoss.com/en/yikeserin/playlist/make-happy - I'll be adding to it whenever I find new songs to add. (feel free to message me on tumblr if theres any songs you think should be there!)
> 
> tumblr - yikespinkman  
> twitter - yikesrovia


	5. Chapter 5

"Checkmate!" Carl exclaimed as he pushed Daryl's King off the board with his own figure, smug grin on his face.

"Yeah yeah, I'll win some day" Daryl scoffed as he stood up from his seat, defeated by the 17 year old for the third time that day.

Daryl had a day off from work and decided to spend it with Rick and his family. Their family was his family, he'd always felt welcome there and knew he could trust each of them and that they loved him for him, something he'd never really experienced with his blood relatives, something that he was grateful for every day and still didn't understand what he did to deserve them. Sometimes Daryl would just walk into their house and nobody would question it anymore, Michonne had even given him a spare key to visit whenever he needed to get out his own house, he had just become an indirect member of their family.

He saw Rick as his brother and he'd protect Carl like he was his own son, but he wouldn't treat him like Daryl was his father, he'd treat him like he'd treat one of his friends his own age. He knew Carl appreciated when he was treated like an adult and Daryl got that from his own teen years, being treated like an equal meant a lot to him when he was younger and he knew how patronising some adults could be towards teenagers, it was no surprise teenagers were stereotyped as grumpy and uncooperative if they were treated like they were ignorant and had no clue about the world, especially when teenagers nowadays were extremely open-minded and clever.

 It was then there was a ring at the doorbell, Rick wandered over to the door, face ridden with curiosity as he reached for the handle and opened it to a dripping wet Glenn, hood of his forest green jacket over his head as he held on to the edges keeping it in its place. The front of his hair was wet where the hood hadn't quite protected it from the torrential downpour outside and his large, rounded glasses had water droplets covering the glass as they began to steam up from the sudden exposure to the warmth of the Grimes household.

"I didn't read the weather forecast" he muttered as he stepped into the house, rubbing his feet on the doormat to prevent a trail of wet footprints following his path.

Rick chuckled as he closed the door behind his friend. Michonne looked up from the magazine she was reading and giggled at the sight in front of her.

"So you had a day" she smirked, watching Glenn cautiously remove his dripping jacket and place it over the radiator, then taking off his shoes making a disgruntled noise and screwing his face up as he lifted each shoe, shaking it a little and watching the puddle of rainwater soak into the doormat.

"C'mon man not the socks as well that's the worst" Glenn sighed as he then removed his socks twisting them to squeeze out the water they had gathered in his shoe puddles and then placing them on the radiated next to his jacket.

"Make yourself at home" Rick snorted, hand on his hip whilst he leaned against the wall, watching the aftermath of Glenn's misfortunate weather predictions for the day.

"Yeah right sorry" Glenn replied, face still screwed up in disgust as he tiptoed bare foot over to the breakfast bar taking a seat on one of the red stools.

"Sorry I turned up uninvited but I guessed you'd be home and well, I was right. Also since Daryl's here its conveniently saved me from making two trips." Glenn explained as he took his phone out of his Jean pocket and placed it on the table, rubbing it dry with the sleeve of his long sleeved baseball jersey.

"But yeah anyway, I came to invite you to a little get together at mine and Maggie's on Friday, her request, for my birthday. I told her I didn't want anything big so hopefully she hasn't invited the whole neighbourhood." Glenn's lips turned up into a small smile as he looked at his friends, waiting for their answer.

"Yeah that would be great, want us to bring anything?" Rick replied.

"Uh... you'd have to ask Maggie but I'm sure any source of food or drinks wouldn't do any harm."

"What about presents? You know we'll get you one as much as you refuse." Michonne raised her eyebrows smiling at Glenn.

"Surprise me then" Glenn winked and turned to look at Daryl.

"What about you? You coming?"

"Yeah, guess I'll have to" Daryl scoffed, mouth turning into a smirk.

"You wouldn't miss it for the world Dixon" Glenn replied impishly.

Daryl grunted, turning back to the board of chess which Carl was clearing away. In all honestly Daryl had totally forgotten about Glenn's birthday, he felt kind of awful about it but at least he had gotten a warning. He was never good at remembering dates, or remembering any at that, he had quite the short term memory but he was good at remembering little things, things that may be insignificant to others but to him they meant something. Things like Ricks favourite song, Glenn's order of choice when it came to Chinese takeout, he remembered a young Carl telling him about a girl in his class called Sophia. It was the little things that mattered for Daryl, something he wish someone else would apply to him one day. Daryl's train of thought was interrupted when Michonne held a plate of brownies in front of his nose, pushing the edge of the plate into his chest to grab his attention.

"Uh thanks" he said as he took the plate of brownies and set them on his lap, not sure what he was meant to be doing with them.

"I mean I'd happily let you take the whole plate but I'm afraid I made them to share around" Michonne laughed as she looked at Daryl, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh yeah right sorry" He replied, blush growing on his cheeks as he took a lukewarm brownie from the plate and handed it back to Michonne.

He shoved the whole thing in his moth, excess crumbs falling down his chin and onto his lap as he scoffed down the delicious chocolate treat. He turned round from his seat on the couch to see all his friends looking at him with an expression of shock and slight disgust as he shovelled the getaway crumbs from his lap into his chocolate coated mouth.

"Hungry?" Rick enquired as his face screwed up at his friend, still with a slight smile on his face in amusement.

"What?" Daryl grumbled back as he liked his fingers, a pop sound coming from each finger as he pulled it from his mouth. The group of friends sighed or snickered as they returned to their interrupted conversation by Daryl's eating habits.

"Yeah, I'm not sure who's coming yet to be honest. I said I'd come over here to ask you guys because I know you'd come anyway but Maggie told me the rest is a surprise" Glenn wiggled his eyebrows, eyes wide as he answered Ricks question.

"I know for sure Enid will be there Carl" he continued as he glanced at Carl and gave him a mischievous smirk.

"Yeah okay" Carl blushed as he swiftly left the room and footsteps were heard making their way up the stairs towards his bedroom.

Rick chuckled as he watched his son leave before any more questions were asked. There was constant teasing with the father and son over the certain girl Carl had taken an interest in. He was adamant that they were only friends and nothing else but Rick presumed otherwise and always pressed his son into answering his enquires about his love life. Daryl found the whole thing very amusing, Carl had already told him that he did like Enid but he didn't want anything that would ruin their friendship, he'd only told him this under the circumstances that Daryl would NEVER mention it to Rick and Daryl had kept that promise so far.

 Daryl's thoughts were then swerved back to the subject of Glenn's birthday and the guests he expected for his celebrations. Daryl really hoped that there wouldn't be a lot of people there, he always felt bad for leaving early but he couldn't bare the awkwardness of the whole night when strangers would try to talk to him. He'd been to get-togethers a couple times in the past and he knew some of Glenn and Maggie's other friends but he'd never really engaged in much conversation between them. He remembered Tara, Sasha, Aaron, they were the ones that had tried their best to converse with him, the others, he could recognise their faces but had never made much of an effort to learn their names. Daryl still felt bad for leaving Glenn and Maggie's wedding early, and that was years ago, he twiddled with his thumbs as he thought about his options.

He finally decided that he would bare the awkwardness and uncomfortableness for one night for his friend, he at least owed him that, he'd leave when everyone else did. He was then thinking about what he could get Glenn as a present, he never thought he was great at giving presents but everyone else that he had ever given a present to seemed very grateful, Daryl sometimes wondered if they were just putting on an act as to not upset him but he was usually good at picking out lies and the reactions seemed genuine enough. The clogs in his brain where whirring as he thought of something that Glenn would actually appreciate and something that was in his price range.

He thought about Glenn's love of comics, he could get him a comic? Those were affordable, he just wouldn't know which one to get as Glenn seemed to have almost every edition of every series ever the way Daryl looked at it. The idea of Glenn's comic collection then inspired Daryl to think of Glenn's own comic, the one which he was still supposedly working on after around three years, Daryl was more convinced he was writing a novel more so than a comic book. But he'd seen the evidence, Glenn had shown him a couple of the finalised pages, of which there were only around 7, a glance into how much of a perfectionist Glenn must be if he'd been working on it for that long. Daryl was sure he could get some things to help Glenn with his art, pens, paper, shit like that, it seemed affordable, also he could go to the art store across the street from his work building. Daryl looked at the clock on the kitchen wall and read it as 4pm. It was a Wednesday and he had no idea what time the store would close, he'd make his way out the house soon incase.

* * *

 The time came to 4:30pm and Daryl was trying to make an excuse to leave, Glenn had ended up staying for longer than expected and was still chatting away to Rick and Michonne about God knows what. Daryl had directed his attention to the TV which was set on a random music channel. He watched as the countdown of the top songs in the chart that week went down to number one, each of the songs he hadn't heard once before. He enjoyed listening to music, but was very particular when it came to what type of music, he was more a classic rock kind of guy and was not very impressed by the kind of music that was being shown on the TV. The number one song came on and Daryl staged his exit and stood up, grabbing his leather vest from the arm chair next to the couch.

"I better go, overstayed my welcome" Daryl mumbled as he walked towards the door.

"You might as well stay for dinner? And of course you haven't overstayed your welcome you're welcome here anytime and you know that." Michonne said softly, giving a smile to the redneck.

"Nah, 'ts okay, need to get a few things from the store anyway, don't want it to close before I get there" Daryl refused the offer as politely as he could.

"Okay, see you later" Michonne smiled again, understanding that Daryl just couldn't be around people for a certain amount of time, he needed his space.

"See you Thursday, 7pm sharp!" Glenn shouted after Daryl as he walked out the door.

"Yeah see you then" He said as he closed the door behind him, thankfully the weather had cleared since Glenn had arrived, it was now sunny and there was an almost transparent rainbow in the sky being consumed by the light grey clouds.

Daryl walked down the porch of the house towards his bike parked in Ricks driveway, his helmet balanced on the seat, thankfully no rain had gotten on the inside so Daryl's hair was safe from getting a little damp. Daryl placed his helmet on his head, pulling the visor down and swung his leg over his bike. He revved the engine into life and drove down the road, heading towards the main city on his quest to find Glenn a birthday present.

* * *

 Daryl pulled into a space on the side of the road in the street and parked outside his bike shop. He got off his bike and took of his helmet, the sweat on his forehead making his strands of hair stick to his face. He ran his hand through his messy, tangled helmet hair and decided he'd take the helmet inside with him. It was a busy street and he didn't want to risk anyone stealing his helmet. He looked both ways before crossing the road to the art store on the other side of the road, he looked up at the sign as he read _'The Gallery'_ in black writing and a white background in a fancy, cursive font, typical of an art store and looked very pretentious. Daryl walked into the store and looked around, it was almost empty, a few customers here and there, he couldn't see any workers though, the front cashier desk was empty.

Daryl didn't have a first clue where to look first, there was stuff everywhere, brushes, pens, paints, paper, the lot. It also didn't help that he wasn't even sure what he was looking for in the first place. He slowly walked towards a shelf of paints of every colour and every size of pot and tube, he didn't know if Glenn used paints, he guessed he did but he didn't know where to start if we was going to be buying some for him, like what colours would he want, what type of paint he would want and what size of tube/pot? There were too many choices for Daryl to comprehend but he stared at the paint a little while so it looked as if he was in the store for a specific reason. He looked up and down the stacks of art supplies littered around the store, slowly treading down the Isles making himself look busy. He probably should've stuck to the comic idea, at least he knew somewhat about them, he could've easily given a lucky guess as to which ones Glenn owned. He could also give him money, but that was boring and usually showed that there wasn't a lot of thought put into the gift, Daryl wanted something Glenn would really appreciate and remember. He walked over to a stand full of coloured pens and grabbed one from the holder, inspecting it and reading the prices and name of brand in the sign on top of the stand when he was suddenly startled by a voice behind him.

"Hi there, is there anything you're looking for today?" A friendly voice chirped as Daryl turned around to face a younger man wearing big round framed glasses and a floral patterned light blue shirt with a grey beanie sat on his head.

Daryl recognised the man immediately, he was the prick that prevented him from getting the Reeses pieces at the store a week back.

Daryl frowned, "Uh... Just lookin'" he mumbled.

"Well if you need any help, I respond to Paul or Jesus, your pick" the man smiled as he turned around to walk away.

As soon as the words came out his mouth Daryl had a sudden realisation that he had in fact actually met this guy before. He was the one at Glenn and Maggie's wedding almost three years ago who had tried to start a conversation with him, and then asked him to dance which Daryl promptly refused. He looked different now, no wonder Daryl hadn't recognised him before, his hair was a lot longer, past his shoulders now and his beard was fuller and a lot bushier than it had been before. He still had the piercing ice blue eyes that Daryl remembered, but he looked like he hadn't had an awful amount of sleep and they were carrying bags underneath them.

"Um... Actually" Daryl muttered under his breath, half hoping the other man wouldn't hear it.

"Yes?" 'Jesus' stopped in his tracks and turned around back to facing Daryl.

"You got any uh... Comic book stuff?" Daryl screwed up his face, not entirely sure what he was after.

"Do you mean like merch or actual comi-"

"Nah, like stuff you make comics with I dunno"

"Ah well it depends what media you're planning on using"

"Ain't me, it's a friend"

"Oh okay, well do you know what they're using? Paint, pens, coloured pencils?" The long hair man enquired, trying his best to figure out what the other man was looking for.

"Uh... It's all in black an' white um... Pens I think, looks like it's been printed out" Daryl replied making sure to keep his eyes on the rack of pens in front of him.

"Well if it looks that way I'd guess they're using ink and brush, many comic book artists use that media so I'd think that's the most likely, I can show you where you can find them, just follow me" the younger man said as he lead Daryl towards the back end of the shop.

They walked up to the back left corner and there were rows of bottles of every colour of ink and on the bottom shelf were boxes of brushes and nibs of all sizes. Daryl didn't think he'd ever seen so much variations of one thing in his life, they looked almost all identical to him and he could barely tell the difference between each bottle, although the price of them showed they were definitely different in some way or another.

"All the black ink is on this side, some of them are a little pricey and they're not worth that much if I do say so myself, I'd recommend one of the cheaper bottles, they're just as good and a bargain for what you get. It's just the brand name that adds all the dollars to the other ones." Jesus informed.

"Uh, yeah... I'll just take two of these." Daryl mumbled as he grabbed two medium sized bottles of black ink and placed them inside his helmet which he used as a shopping basket.

"Anything else you need help with?" The man smiled.

"Uhm..." Daryl whispered, "You know what papers best for this stuff? and I'll take some of these too" Daryl said as he grabbed a pack of five different sized brushes.

"Yeah sure, come this way I can give you some recommendations" He replied, still smiling as he lead Daryl to another part of the store.

As the man walked ahead of him, Daryl noticed he was considerably shorter than he was, the top of his head just reached Daryl's eye level.

"So here's your choice, I know there's a lot but don't panic, I can choose some out if you want" Jesus smirked at Daryl.

"Yeah, please" Daryl replied.

He chewed on his lip as he watched the younger man look through piles of different paper and sketchpads, taking a few and putting them underneath his arm to hold. He took some and then swapped them with others after screwing up his nose and signing whilst choosing which paper was best. Daryl was clueless as to what types of paper were used for what things, he didn't even know there were this many types of paper. He kinda thought it was dumb, couldn't you just do with one type of paper why was there a need for all this shit that looked exactly the same? Jesus finally decided on two different sketchpads after all his thorough dig in the piles of paper and handed them to Daryl. "These should be what you're after" he smiled Daryl took the books from him.

"Anything else? Or will I serve you at the counter?"

"Yeah, that's it" Daryl murmured and made his way toward the counter to pay for his items.

"Now that comes to $29.36 please, cash or card?" Jesus chirped as he pressed some buttons on the cash register.

"Just cash" Daryl said as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and and dug out his last 10 and 20 dollar bills.

"Keep the change" he grumbled as he placed the notes on the cashier desk with a heavy sigh.

"I'm flattered, you need a bag?" Jesus smirked as he took the bills from the desk and shoved them into the register.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at the mans comment before he replied "yeah."

"I recognise you from somewhere, I mean you work in the bike shop across the street right but I've seen you somewhere else I'm sure of it" The younger man stated as he ducked down under the counter to grab a bag from underneath and started shuffling Daryl's items into it.

Daryl knew exactly how he recognised him but for sure was not in the mood for talking or making a new friend, especially with this guy.

"Nah, must be another guy" he grumbled as he took his bag and turned to leave the store, taking his helmet out from underneath his arm and trying to fit it on his head with one hand as the other one carried Glenns present.

"Hmm, I'm certain it was you, it'll come to me eventually. Anyway have a nice day!" The hippie chirped as Daryl walked towards the exit.

"Yeah sure" he muttered in reply, opening the door and walking across the street back to his bike.

He looked inside his own store, he saw some of the workers speaking to some clients and quickly put his visor on his helmet down before any of them could see him. He realised the neon sign in the window which read the shop name _'The Cog Father'_ getting dimmer every day, Daryl had not come up with the name of the shop, unfortunately it was named that when he started working there and there was nothing he could do to change it. He hopped on his bike and made his way back home.

* * *

 He arrived home at around 6pm and looked in his fridge to see what there was to eat for dinner. He spotted a microwave spaghetti meal and grabbed it from the back of the fridge. He looked at the back of the packed to find the instructions but lost patience and ripped off the cardboard and throwing it in the trash. He took a fork out from his cutlery drawer and pierced some holes in the cellophane and placed be meal into the centre of his microwave, setting the timer to 3 and a half minutes. While his dinner was heating up he went back to the fridge and grabbed a can of orange crush soda and flicked open the can with one hand, taking a gulp before placing it down on the kitchen counter. The microwave pinged and Daryl went over to collect his spaghetti bolognese. He grabbed it from the microwave, cursing as the hot plastic tub burnt his fingertips. He pulled back the plastic and using the very tips of his fingers on the edge of the container he carried the tub with his fork in it to his couch in the lounge. He placed is down on the arm of the couch before returning to the kitchen to grab his soda as he made his way back to his dinner.

He turned on his small TV and flicked through some channels until he found something remotely interesting. He found a random cooking show and sighed as he threw the remote onto his coffee table. He sat in the couch and kicked off his boots before he lifted up his feet to rest them on the table and then placing his spaghetti bolognese container on his lap. He slurped up the spaghetti as he watching the cooking show, splatting tomato sauce all over his shirt and beard. He was finished in no time and placed the empty container on the coffee table and picked up his can of soda.

He leaned back in the couch and closed his eyes taking a deep breath, he woke up four hours later, TV still playing the same damn cooking show and his can of orange soda spilled all over the floor. He grunted as he stood up to go to the kitchen to get a towel to clean up the mess he'd made when he was unconscious. He cleaned it up and checked the time, 9:30pm. He was actually pretty tired and decided he'd go to bed early for once, he had work in the morning anyway, it would probably do him some good to get some proper sleep. He groggily made his way to his bedroom, unbuckling his belt and taking off his pants and pulling on a pair of navy sweatpants, he then unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the back of a chair in his room as he made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once brushing, he finally walked towards his bed and pulled the covers off, hoping underneath them before bundling them up right to underneath his nose. He thought about his day and the Reeses dude at the art store and soon enough he had fallen asleep.

* * *

 Soon enough it reached Thursday and Daryl was anxious about going to Glenn's party or whatever it was. Glenn nor Maggie had specified what they should wear to the event so he wore a dark grey, short sleeved plaid shirt and some black jeans. He had found some old brown paper in one of his cupboards in the house and had used it to wrap Glenn's gift to the best of his ability. It was pretty messy but he tied it up with some string to make it look even a little bit more appealing.

 He arrived at the Rhee household at 7pm sharp and his heart sunk when he noticed that there was quite a number of cars parked around the house, he also saw silhouettes in the windows and heard music playing from inside the house. Looks like Glenn hadn't quite gotten the _"small get-together"_ that he'd asked for, he must've given in to Maggie's idea of inviting the whole neighbourhood. Daryl slowly made his way up the pathway to the front door, dreading the night that was about to unfold. His nerves got the better of him and he had to take a few deep breaths before he plucked up the courage to ring the doorbell. He rang it eventually and heard a bundle of footsteps heading towards the front door as it opened and revealed the humongous grins of Glenn and Maggie as they welcomed him to their home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Daryl and Jesus meet again! hope you enjoyed this chapter and sorry if theres any spelling errors I didn't have time to do much proof reading! 
> 
> talk to me on tumblr - yikespinkman


	6. Chapter 6

"Right on time!" Glenn grinned as he pulled Daryl into his house and embraced him in a bear hug.

Daryl gave a shy smile as Glenn let go and noticed the brown package in Daryl's hands. "Yeah... Uh sorry it's really shabby, got no wrapping paper but uhh... I hope you lik-"

"Doesn't matter see, it's on the inside that counts" Glenn's eyes widened and his eyebrows raised as he assured Daryl whilst already tearing open his present.

"You could've waited" Maggie smiled fondly as she watched her husband tearing open his gift like a little kid in Christmas morning.

"WHAT! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Glenn exclaimed in a higher pitched tone than usual, eyes wide and the edges crinkling due to the size of the grin on his face.

He dropped the ripped paper on the floor, to which Maggie sighed and picked it up crossing her arms. Glenn grasped his ink, brushes and sketchpad almost hugging them to protect them from anything that may harm them.

"Yeah, no problem" Daryl said, almost in a whisper as he felt a rush of blood heading towards his cheeks as he saw how genuinely pleased Glenn was with his gifts.

"Come on you two" Maggie then said, making a _'follow me'_ motion with her hand as she led the men towards the lounge.

Daryl followed, swallowing hard as he came to face all the unfamiliar guests, luckily as he got to the doorway he noticed a few recognisable faces. Rick's arm was slung over Michonne's shoulder on a couch in the back right corner of the room, sitting next to them on the couch was Sasha and another women he didn't recognise, she had her black/dark brown hair in a slick back ponytail wearing a bright red lipstick and ripped black skinny jeans and a black mesh baseball jersey. She was very pretty, Daryl thought she could've been a model.

Sitting in the floor was Carl and who he presumed was Enid, he'd never seen her before but given the description Carl had given of her she seemed to fit the match. On the wall closest to the doorway sat on the couch was Tara wearing a stripy black and white t-shirt with a pair of black jean overalls over the top, Aaron wearing a plain grey polo shirt and a guy with a mullet that he was pretty sure he'd have remembered if he'd ever encountered him before. He sat with a blank expression on his face wearing a black t-shirt with a bald eagle on top of an American flag image in the front, something that looked as though it had been purchased from one of those tourist stores full of all the tacky knick knacks, along with that he was wearing dark green cargo shorts. A questionable fashion choice, Daryl must admit even though he wasn't exactly the most fashionable himself.

"Look who finally showed" teased Rick as Daryl peered into the room, not quite sure if he fully wanted to enter it yet.

"DARYL!" Tara shouted, mouth wide as she waved her hands in the air, red solo cup in hand sloshing over some drops of alcohol.

An indicator that she was already a little tipsy, Tara never was the best at handling her drink. Daryl lifted his hand in a slight wave to Tara as his cheeks turned red at his rather over enthusiastic announcement.

"Everyone this is Daryl, some of you have met him before, _please_ treat him carefully in your tipsy state of minds we don't wanna scare him off" Maggie cocked her brow, smile on her lips as she pointed a finger at all the guests. This made Daryl blush ever harder. Maggie introduced him to all the guests anyway, the woman with the red lipstick was Rosita and the dude with the mullet was Eugene. Eugene stood straight up and reached out his hand towards Daryl. He cautiously took the mans hand and shook it, Eugene's grip was rather strong and he still had the same blank expression on his face as he stared down Daryl, making him a little weirded out.

"It is an upmost pleasure to meet you Daryl, I hope you and I can get along well" Eugene said, expressionless.

"Uh... Yeah" Daryl narrowed his eyes as he let go of his hand, palms now sweating with the unusual interaction.

"He's a little odd, got good intentions though" Maggie whispered in Daryl's ear as she took his arm and then led him to the kitchen, leaving Glenn behind with the other guests.

Daryl and Maggie walked into the kitchen to see even more guests, this time everyone in the room he wasn't sure if he'd seen before. There was a young man with short, wavy brown hair and a chiselled face of stubble wearing a black polo shirt grabbing a handful of chips from a bowl on the dinner table. He looked up as he saw Maggie and Daryl enter the room.

"Hey, sorry I would shake your hand but I'm a little pre-occupied, I'm Spencer" the guy smiled as he raised a hand to give a small wave to Daryl.

Daryl gave a small nod in return and gave his name in return to Spencer. There was also an older looking woman with short, grey hair in the kitchen, setting a tray of cookies down on the table next to the other plates of party food. She was wearing a floral shirt with a blue cardigan over the top, she gave a kind smile to Daryl.

"This is Carol, I recommend you try her cookies, they're the best you can get" Maggie smiled as she walked over to the table and grabbed one for herself.

Just then the door leading to the basement opened, clattering of bottles following as none other than the Reeses guy from the art store walked into the kitchen, bottles of beer in hand and large bag of ice under his arm. He had changed from his clothes he was wearing at the art store, he now wore light denim skinny jeans and a plain white button up shirt, buttoned right up to the collar, his large round rimmed glasses still covering his icy blue-green eyes and his hair now in a bun on the top of his head.

" _M_ I think were gonna need some more ice" he said as he heaved the bottles and bag of ice on the table, sarcastic tone of voice.

"Yeah I'm sure we will" Maggie did a short exhale through her nose as she smiled at the man.

"Oh hi! I didn't see you there" Jesus said as he looked up at Daryl, same smile from the art store still plastered on his face.

"Jesus this is Daryl, Daryl, Jesus" Maggie introduced them to one another.

"Ah we've actually met before" Jesus informed as he glanced back at Maggie then back at the floppy haired biker.

"In your dreams?" Maggie rolled her eyes and smirked at her friend, predicting his usual response to a line like that.

"Nope not this time", Jesus scoffed and rolled his eyes back in return to Maggie, "we work across from eachother" he continued as he smiled up at Daryl.

A rouge formed on Daryl's cheeks again as he didn't know what to say. If he knew Jesus was going to be at the party he definitely wouldn't have gotten Glenn's present from that art store, he now thought it was just a tad awkward and there was an elephant in the room that only he was aware of.

"Anyway it's nice to meet you, again" The shorter man smirked as he took Daryl's hand and shook it.

Daryl now felt even more embarrassed as his palms were still sweaty and he hoped that Jesus hadn't noticed, if he did he was probably too polite to mention it.

"Anyway, I am your host so can I get either of you two a drink?" Maggie asked as she rest her elbow on the breakfast bar looking between the men for an answer.

"No worries I'll just help myself, I know where everything is" Paul winked as he made his way past Maggie and grabbed one of the red solo cups from the stack and began mixing a rather random concoction of alcohol into it from the bottles that were standing on the table.

"Uh... I'll just have soda please, whatever kind" Daryl replied, watching the bearded man from the side of his eye.

Daryl watched the younger man mix up his poison, he furrowed his brows thinking how anyone could drink a mix of all the different alcohols he had included, that couldn't be healthy. Once finished, Jesus took a sip of his drink and screwed up his face as he swallowed the liquid, then continued to drink more as if he'd made a commitment during the making the drink that he was going to finish it whatever the outcome may be.

"I never was quite the mixologist" Jesus muttered as he took another gulp from the red cup in his hand, screwing his face up as his throat began to tickle with the mix of alcohol.

"Why don't you pour it out?" Piped up Daryl, narrowing his eyes at the man before him, wondering if was really as smart as he thought he was.

"Can't waste it, anyway, at least it'll keep me up to pace with Tara on the scale of intoxication" Jesus replied, mischievous grin appearing on his face.

Maggie then returned with a can of Cola and handed it to Daryl, the ice cold can was a relieve to receive as it could maybe help stop Daryl's profusely sweating hands. He took the can and placed it on the table, popping the cap open with one hand before lifting it up to his mouth and chugging down around a quarter of the can before setting it back down again on the table. He could feel the cold liquid running down his throat right into his stomach and suddenly regretted his decision as he felt a gas buildup in the back of his throat, which he luckily swallowed down before any embarrassing noises escaped his lips.

"Alright, I'll be in the lounge, feel free to join me if you wish" Maggie said over her shoulder as she walked out the kitchen.

Daryl was then left in the kitchen with Jesus, Carol and Spencer looked as though they were already in deep conversation, not that Daryl particularly wanted to join them anyway as he preferred not to engage in conversations with strangers, but he felt oddly uncomfortable being left with younger man. He just stood very stiffly as he held his drink in his hand, occasionally taking small sips so it could last longer as a means of distraction. He glanced at Jesus from the corner of his eye and he was almost in the same position, he was leaning against the breakfast bar, drink in hand taking small sips, but he looked a lot more comfortable.

"I should've known you were buying that stuff for Glenn the other day, I guess I didn't click until I saw you tonight. I should've known, he's probably the only person in Georgia writing a comic book" Jesus scoffed as he looked up at Daryl from his drink.

"Also, I remember where I recognise you from now. You were at their wedding right? You were the one that ditched me on the dance floor" He continued making a exaggerated pouty face.

"Wasn't on the dance floor for me to ditch you in the first place" Daryl grunted in reply, narrowing his eyes at the mans remark.

"Well, I guess you can always make up for it now?" Jesus opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"Nah" drawled Daryl as he walked over to Carol's cookies and shoved a whole one in his mouth in an attempt to stop the current conversation from carrying on.

Daryl then swiftly left the room and made his way upstairs to the bathroom to take a five minute breather. He sat on the toilet seat for a while, thinking about how he'd rather be literally anywhere than in the situation he was in right now. He decided he'd go to the lounge when he went down, at least he knew most of the people in that room. He finally lifted himself off the bathroom seat and opened the door and jumped when he was confronted with Jesus standing behind the door.

"The fuck..." Daryl whispered as he glared at the man for a couple seconds before walking out the door.

"I didn't hear you flush" Jesus raised his eyebrows and looked as Daryl, sly smirk growing on his lips. Daryl didn't even know what to say, his cheeks gradually became warmer as the cogs in his brain began whirring at maximum speed.

"Didn't need to" He then muttered, he'd rather tell the truth than say that he'd forgotten to flush.

"Ah, you just didn't want to admit that you would've taken up my offer to dance so avoided me instead, that's ok" The man replied, smirk now fully blooming on his lips, a little teeth showing as he teased the awkward party guest in front of him. Daryl hardened his glare and grunted before heading back downstairs, red colour still lingering on his cheeks.

 

He went to the kitchen first and grabbed a can of beer before heading to the lounge, alcohol seemed to be the only thing that would give him that little bit of courage to get through the rest of the night. As he entered the lounge he noticed that there was now a space on the couch next to Rick and Michonne, he made his way over as the rest of the guests seemed to entranced in a current drinking game that Tara had initiated. He sat down next to Rick and heaved out a long sigh as rested his hand carrying the can of beer on his thigh. He watched as Tara explained the game to the small crowd huddling over on their seats to hear her instructions, majority with confused expressions painted on their faces.

"Hey, you okay?" Rick asked as he poked Daryl in the leg, giving a concerned look.

"Yeah, fine." Daryl lied as he avoided eye contact with his friend, continuing to avert his attention to the game play in front of him.

"Daryl! Come play! Everyone, Rick and Michonne too" Tara shouted over to the other side of the room.

"I would ask you Carl, you too Enid but this is adult stuff" She then air-quoted at the two teenagers still sitting on the floor in the same position Daryl had last seen them.

"Nah, m'fine" Daryl mumbled, looking down at his drink.

"C'mon man I'll do it if you do it" Rick said, offering Daryl a hand to drag him off the couch and onto the floor.

"Pretty please!" Tara pouted putting on a puppy dog face.

"Yeah, come on Daryl it'll be good trust me" Glenn said, giving him a rather concerning look.

Daryl sighed, giving into the peer pressure, "fine" he said taking Rick's hand and joining the group on the floor, sitting with his back leaned against the bottom of the couch, one of his knees bent upright with his arms hugging around it and the other laying flat on the floor.

Michonne also joined them on the floor just as Jesus walked through the door and Rosita then yanked his hand for him to join too. Tara explained the aim of the game again. It was called _'Paranoia'_ , the aim of the game was pretty simple, the person next to you in the circle would whisper a question to you and you would say your answer to to that question out loud but the question had to relate to people in the room and your answer had to be a name, like who's most likely to _____. The person who's name was the answer would have to take a drink if they wanted to know what the question was.

Daryl became more and more fidgety the more the concept of the game came clear in his mind, he just hoped that nobody mentioned his name and he wasn't asked a shitty question. The game got going and there were many suspicious looks and gasps and giggles as some answers were left without context but others the curiosity got the better of the and question was revealed at the price of consuming some alcohol. It seemed like a very juvenile game to be played by a bunch of adults, it was like they were back in a classroom in middle school passing round secret notes and whispering dumb gossip in everyone's ears. Eventually Rick leaned into Daryl's ear for his turn to answer a question.

"Who would you rather to be stuck in an elevator with you for 6 hours?" Whispered Rick, smile clear in his tone of voice.

Daryl's heart rate slowed as the question turned out not to be as bad as he thought it would be, he just wasn't sure what his answer would be. He pondered for a couple of seconds, tapping his fingers on his can of beer while quietly humming in a low voice.

"Glenn" he finally decided on.

It was true, he didn't really know anyone else well enough and he didn't want to say any of the girls in case anyone did the inevitable wolf whistle, he also couldn't say Rick because he was the one asking the question and he'd rather not be teased for the rest of the night. Glenn gave Daryl a suspicious look once his name was mentioned, debating wether or not he should drink for the question to be revealed, he decided against it, letting Daryl ask a question to Michonne. He thought of a question and leaned over to pass it on to Michonne, moving his drink out the way incase he tipped it over.

"Who would ya marry other than Rick?" He asked, a minuscule smirk forming at the side of his lips.

Michonne smiled as his question and swiftly replied "Maggie"

Maggie opted to drink to find out the question, once it was revealed there were a lot of _"awws"_ as the girls reached out their hands towards each other. It then got round to Tara who asked Jesus a question, once she asked him the edge of his lips curved into a mischievous grin as he answered with Daryl's name. Daryl furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes, staring out the man. He wanted to know what the question was but also didn't at the same time, he also didn't want the give Jesus the satisfaction of revealing the question.

"Nah" he growled as he looked at Jesus, his smile still plastered on his face as he looked down at his drink before taking a sip.

He looked back up at Daryl and gave him a wink whilst the cup of alcohol was at his lips, thankfully nobody else had noticed it. Daryl frowned as he saw the wink and looked down at his knees, he felt like the temperature of the room had just risen. The game carried on for around 40 minutes, Daryl's name was mentioned a few times, he'd only drank for one which Rick had answered and he wished he hadn't as soon as he replied with the question. Rosita had asked who Rick thought would be the last person to find a partner, when Rick answered his cheeky smile was too tempting for Daryl and he'd given in and finished his second can of beer. He'd actually been drinking throughout the game anyway just as a coping mechanism.

When Daryl heard what Ricks question was he punched him in the arm and gave a shy smile but in the back of his head he couldn't help but think about the question that was asked. Relationships were never a thing that Daryl was never really interested in, but the thought having someone that would love him unconditionally and be there with him for as long as they lived made his heart flutter in a sense of excitement and fear.

Glenn and Rick had actually set him up on multiple dates over the years, all of which Daryl had never turned up to. He felt bad for the women but he would rather have moved to a different country and change his name than go on a date with some random person he's never met before. Glenn even downloaded a dating app onto his phone one time without him realising and he was mightily confused when he kept getting notifications saying _"it's a match"_ with a random name he'd never heard before. He eventually pressed on one one day and saw that Glenn had _"swiped right"_ on almost every single woman in the neighbourhood. He'd also had a couple messages all of which he kept as a read receipt before deleting the app. He repressed the thoughts to the back of his mind as the game continued.

Once it ended Maggie brought out a big chocolate cake littered with coloured candles, Glenn looked like an excitable puppy as everyone began singing _happy birthday_ as Maggie brought the cake closer to him so he could blow out the candles. Everyone cheered once Glenn blew out the flickers of orange in one breath, then immediately asked afterwards what he wished for, to him replying that he couldn't tell anyone or it wouldn't come true. Daryl scoffed as he listened to his friend, he didn't really believe in wishes and destinies and fate, all that shit. The night grew old and at some point someone had brought out Glenn's guitar. It was immediately handed to Jesus who was then egged on to sing a song.

"Okay okay, exclusive one man concert just for this very special event" He gave into his friends requests, he was quite tipsy but he began to play a soft tune on the acoustic.

_["Ain't no sunshine when she's gone It's not warm when she's away Ain't no sunshine when she's gone And she's always gone too long Anytime she goes away"](https://youtu.be/tIdIqbv7SPo) _

Daryl recognised the Bill Withers song, it was actually one of his favourites. He remembered his mum used to sing it when he was young and his dad wasn't in the house, she would play it on the piano, voice soft as the sweet sound drifted through the air. Daryl suddenly felt somber and looked down at his feet and started twiddling his fingers. He tried not to think about the memory and instead payed attention to the song being played and only that. He didn't expect Jesus to play a song that he knew, he expected him to play something modern, a song that he saw playing on Rick's TV the other day. Daryl expected that he was considerably younger than he was, he must've been the same age as Glenn or Maggie as he went to school with them, so maybe early or mid thirties.

He had a nice voice Daryl had to admit, it suited the song really well, it also made him a little envious. Daryl had always wished to play guitar, Merle used to have one but every time he tried to play it he got frustrated because his fingers were too chubby and gave up and he'd never tried again since he grew up. He did know how to play piano. His mum had taught him when he was a kid, he still remembered how to play, it had just been a while as he had to sell it once mum died to pay for taxes. He hadn't told anyone that he could play, he felt like he would be judged, he didn't look like your average piano player, he looked more like a drummer or guitarist, a rock persona. Jesus finished the song and everyone cheered and clapped, Tara then starting a chant of _"encore, encore, encore"_. Jesus gave a hearty laugh before giving in and singing another song. This time announcing that it was one of his own before starting the guitar again.

_["Well I don't know how and I don't know why But when something's living well you can't say die You feel like laughing but you start to cry I don't know how and I don't know why"](https://youtu.be/h8gFRF9vaso) _

Daryl was intrigued that the man wrote his own music. Another thing that made him envious, he never saw himself as a creative type and he was a high school drop out so never quite got many good grades, especially with English and maths. He averted his attention back to Jesus singing the sweet acoustic melody.

_"But oh darling my heart's on fire Oh darling my heart's on fire Oh darling my heart's on fire For you"_

Daryl liked the song, it was very calming especially with Jesus' sweet voice, a little husky as he was entering more of a drunken state whilst the alcohol proceeded on its way through his body. The singing came to an end and there was another round of applause as Jesus grinned and thanked everyone for their kind words and support.

"Buy our album on iTunes" Tara shouted gaining a few laughs from the party.

 _"Our"_ album, Daryl thought, maybe Jesus and Tara had written the song together, he had heard before that Tara played the drums, maybe they were in a band.

* * *

 The night eventually came to an end and people began to leave, everyone ended up getting taxies or Ubers home but Daryl really wasn't feeling up to talking to anymore strangers for the night so opted to walk home, it was around an hour long walk but the fresh air could do him some good to get the alcohol out his system. He wasn't drunk but he had drank enough for him to not feel safe driving back on his bike. Just as Daryl was about to leave, Maggie pulled him aside.

"Hey would you mind walking Jesus home? He ain't fit to walk himself I'd be worried he didn't get home, it's only a 15 minute walk from here and I'll owe you one afterwards" Maggie asked.

Daryl thought about it, he would rather not walk him home, he wasn't sure how he felt about the guy. But saying that, he always felt a struggle saying no to Maggie, she was always so sweet and would always do him favours so he probably owed her a lot more than one.

"Yeah, okay" he mumbled as Maggie pulled him in for a hug.

"Thank you, hopefully he ain't too much to handle, always give me a call if anything happens" She said kissing him on the cheek.

Daryl blushed as Maggie went to take Jesus out the house.

"Okay Jesus listen, Daryl's gonna walk you home make sure you get there okay, play nice and behave" she said in a stern tone, almost as if she was talking to a child.

"Maggie I'm fine, don't need... anybody" the smaller man replied, slurring his words a little.

"No, he's gonna take you. You're not in a state to be walking yourself, especially in the city where there's busy roads"

"Fiiineeee" he drawled, now he actually sounded like a kid.

Maggie smiled a sympathetic smile as she guided Jesus towards Daryl, then informing Daryl of the general direction of his apartment in case Jesus couldn't guide him. They then said their thank yous and goodbyes and walked down the driveway, off on their journey.

"C'mon" Daryl sighed as he headed towards the inner city, listening to Jesus drag his feet along the path behind them.

The night was going to be longer than Daryl expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this chapter! thank you everyone for the lovely comments and kudos you keep leaving for me, they cheer me up and give me motivation to write more!
> 
> a few side notes  
> \- to give you a taste of how slow burn this fic will be I'm currently writing chapter 10 and they've just held hands, not even in a romantic way but you'll know what I mean when its posted...  
> \- also I'm from Scotland so I do apologise if I write any slang words please tell me if you don't know what it means! sometimes I'm not sure wether a word is used outwith the UK or not but it won't be a problem for me to change it :) 
> 
> also I took almost three hours to edit this chapter as I'm watching Black Mirror at the same time and it is royally fucking me over... 
> 
> anyway enough rambling talk to me on tumblr - yikespinkman !


	7. Chapter 7

Daryl took his phone from his back pocket checking the time, 12:46am. He sighed and shoved it back in his jean pocket as he turned to look behind him to check if the intoxicated _"holy figure"_ was still following his lead. Jesus spotted Daryl looking and lifted his hand up and waved, giving a closed mouth goofy, drunken smile, making his eyes crinkle. Daryl grumbled and turned back around, frown making its way onto his face, he would much rather be at home in his bed that walking home a man he hardly knew on a Friday night, or now Saturday morning. In all honestly he'd rather be anywhere than where he was right now, it was starting to get colder as the seasons changed from Summer to Autumn and Daryl could feel the light breeze blowing up his shirt, wishing he brought a jacket. It was then when he felt a light tap on his shoulder, he turned to his left to see that Jesus had caught up with him and was now walking alongside him. His hair had slowly made its way out of the hair band holding his bun together, it was now more of a messy bun esque style, his glasses were also steaming up a little because of the colder weather.

"You don't talk very much do you?" Chirped Jesus.

"Nah" grumbled Daryl in reply, he could feel the younger mans stare burning into his cheek.

"Hm, shame. Seems like you'd have things to talk about" Jesus pouted and looked at the path in front of him.

Daryl found himself slyly throwing a glance towards the man. He wasn't sure what he really meant by that statement. It was probably just drunken chatter, nonsensical and without real matter. But yet he found himself biting to know what Jesus would say if he asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He mumbled, giving in to his curiosity.

"Well, usually people who don't talk too much have the most to say. It's just getting them to say it is the hard part. And, there's nothing wrong with making new friends" The man replied, giving a coy smile.

Daryl looked at his feet as he took each step, mulling over what had just been said to him. It was true. Daryl had a lot of things to say, he just didn't know how to say them. His shyness and social anxiety stopped him from really letting people get to know him. His fears of rejection and being judged deterred him from ever making new friends or conversing with other people, he kept himself to himself and he'd always been that way. He didn't really have any friends in school, there were a few people that he sat next to in classes that he'd talk to in class and then nowhere else. He ate his lunch under the bleachers or in the bathroom by himself like every _"loser"_ in a stereotypical teen movie except he didn't get the whole makeover and everyone then noticed him and became his best friend.

Unfortunately life isn't like that at all.

Instead he dropped out of high school to try find jobs to get money for the family. Merle had turned to selling drugs then, Daryl hadn't wanted to join him, he looked for jobs and got a few, cleaning people's garages and gardening for old town residents just to get a few notes cash, but eventually he had to join Merle. With Dad spending his money on cigarettes, alcohol and drugs, Daryl and Merle were left to grasp onto money to pay for mom's chemo. They had earned enough to afford her a couple sessions at chemotherapy but eventually they ran out and their mother was given around three months to live. She cherished those months and was forever grateful that her sons had gone through the effort to try to get as much help for her as they could. She never knew how Merle got the money, probably for the better, the boys knew that it would break her if she knew it was drug money they used for her cancer treatment. She died in Autumn, Daryl remembered the day.

He came home from being on a walk in the woods to clear his head, she was lying in her bed looking weak and down-ridden but Daryl still thought she was beautiful. She took his hand and didn't say a word, she just fell asleep and never woke. Daryl knew it was her time and he knew she was gone but he couldn't bear to let go of her hand as it grew cold. In her last will and testament, she had left the boys the family home, she also had left Merle a dog tag necklace that she had gotten from her father who was in the army. She left Daryl her piano, when Daryl had walked over to the piano, he found a piece of music laying on the keys. He lifted it up and immediately recognised the piece, [it was one he often heard play around the house](https://youtu.be/PpVjxD8m1oI). He smiled as he remembered the song, now a bittersweet sound to his ears. He noticed that on the back of the piece of music there was a little handwritten note. It read

_"I used to play this to your father when we were young and still in love. I hope you can find someone to do the same. Love, mom"_

Daryl had began tearing up and placed down the sheet of music, resting his head in his hands on top of the piano. He then broke down. His mom was the only person in his life that made him feel safe, Merle was no good for him, he loved him but he didn't understand Daryl and never would. He also went out of his way to make him feel shitty without realising, Daryl just put on a brave face and compressed the emotions until he was alone.

His dad was a piece of shit. He didn't care for the boys at all, he would curse at them and blame things on them that they had nothing to do with, and when things got really bad he hit them. Daryl still had the scars to prove that, most prominently were those on his back. They lived like that for years, neither of them could leave because they didn't have the money, it was just a matter of waiting until their father kicked the bucket. He did eventually, 8 years after their mother died and Daryl was now in his late 20s. Their father had drank himself to death, he gained a liver infection and slowly his health deteriorated day by day and he came closer to his death sentence.

When he died, he didn't have a will and he also didn't have any belongings other than the house, which was left for Daryl and Merle to pay for with money they didn't have. Merle was still selling drugs then to make money - it had become habit, Daryl still hopped around jobs and got some cash but eventually they had to start selling things and that was when they had to sell Mom's piano. Daryl was obviously heartbroken, but he knew it had to go so they could afford somewhere to live. They sold it to an old local pawn shop and in return got $700 for it. Daryl never did find out if someone ever bought it, but he hoped that if they did they treated it well even if it was an inanimate object. It was something he cared for very deeply. Daryl still kept the sheet music with his Mom's note. He had it stored in the drawer in his bedside cabinet, in between the pages of a journal which Daryl sometimes used to write his thoughts or vigorously scribble when he was feeling stressed or as a mechanism to prevent him from harming himself; a suggestion made by Rick. Thankfully, that hadn't happened in a long time.

 Daryl shoved his hands in his pockets. He was brought back from his thoughts at the sound of his hiking partner whistling a melody. Jesus definitely was right. Daryl had a lot to say, he hadn't told anyone much about his past. He had friends but when he thought about it, they didn't really know that much about him, although they'd known him for years. Jesus whistled the tune as he also entered his hands into the pockets of his light blue jeans.

"Why didn't you want to know why I said your name?" He suddenly piped up.

"Huh?" Daryl grunted in reply, being disturbed from his thoughts.

"The game we played, why didn't you drink to find out the question?" He expanded.

"Didn't wanna know" Daryl grunted, telling a white lie.

"You sure? It was a pretty good question" Jesus bragged.

"You don't even know me, how'd you know to answer my name?" Daryl replied, suddenly feeling agitated.

"Wasn't that kind of question. I didn't need to know you well to answer it, also, I don't believe what Rick said. You look like an exceptional dater to me" Jesus raised a brow, giving a sly smirk up to the biker.

Daryl glared at Jesus a couple seconds before replying "yeah, right".

"Are you single?" The man then asked, Daryl was taken aback by the question, it seemed very out of the blue. "I'm not offering, just would like to get to know you better, don't worry" He continued, smirk still plastered on his face, blue-green eyes twinkling in the moonlight.

Daryl nodded his head, not making any eye contact as he felt his cheeks heat up.

"Ah, me too, boyfriend dumped me two months back for some hunky dude that looked like he was straight up from one of those 'sexy fireman' calendars"

"Oh..." Daryl furrowed his brows, "sorry".

He didn't really know what to say to that. Jesus seemed very comfortable admitting to Daryl that he was gay, or, anything other than straight. Not that that was a bad thing, or made Daryl think any less of him. It just startled Daryl a little as he hardly knew the man. Daryl could've easily been the double of his homophobic Father or brother, but thankfully he wasn't. Maybe Jesus just wasn't worried what anyone thought about it. He did seem like a very easy going person.

"Nothing to be sorry about, he was pretty bad in bed anyway." The man replied, letting out a small laugh.

Daryl's face heated up and suddenly he didn't feel as cold anymore. He wasn't expecting an insight to Jesus' sex life and he didn't really want one either.

"What about you? Ever been dumped before?" Jesus looked up at Daryl who was staring at his feet as they took each step.

"Nah" Daryl mumbled, he felt himself getting more uncomfortable as questions about relationships were brought up.

"Ah, you were the dumpee then?" Jesus leered.

"...I... No" Daryl stuttered, voice going quiet as he gave his answer.

He didn't exactly want to straight up tell Jesus he'd never been in a relationship before, he would've sounded like a loner, which he was, but he'd rather not let people know that.

"Oh... Alright. Thank you for doing this by the way, you didn't need to, I'm not as think as you drunk I am" Jesus smiled making the terrible joke, seeing Daryl was uncomfortable and swiftly changing the subject.

"Yeah, I saw" Daryl honestly replied, the man looked as if he was putting on an act back with Maggie as now he was not dragging his feet across the path or slurring his words.

"Maggie's a worrier" He then replied, kind smile spread across his lips.

Daryl grunted as they walked into a street and more lights began to light up the pathway they were walking. They had now entered into the city which was loud and brightly lighten on a Friday night. They walked past many bars and clubs where there were groups of friends outside chatting and laughing, all the while as Daryl tried to hide in the shadows and looked down to the pathway whilst making his way past the cheery club-goers. Daryl would hear Jesus behind him giving an occasional "hello" and "how you doing?" to the people he passed on the street.

"You know all these fuckin' people?" Daryl growled once they entered a more quiet street.

"What can I say, I'm a popular guy" Jesus shrugged, smirk covering his face.

"Yeah, right" Daryl replied as they walked into the street where Maggie and told Daryl that Jesus' apartment block was.

"Here's my stop!" Jesus shouted. "Thank you for your accompaniment Mr Dixon it was much appreciated"

"Uh huh" Daryl grumbled in return, still not quite being able to look the man in the eyes for more than a couple seconds.

"Hope you have a nice night, thanks again!" Jesus warmly smiled as Daryl turned to leave.

"Yeah, thanks" he replied before heading back on his way to his own home.

He took his phone out from his pocket and clicked the home button the reveal the screen, the time now read 1:19am. The trip had taken longer than expected, Daryl sighed again as he put his phone back into his pocket. He retraced his steps back through the city, past the clubs and pubs, making sure to cross the road to the side of the street that has the least amount of people he had to pass. A large man knocked into him and he heard a gruff shout after him

"Hey buddy, watch it!"

Daryl ignored it the best he could as his heart began to race and he didn't look back, instead he looked at his feet and began walking at a faster pace trying his hardest to escape the centre of the city as soon as he could. He eventually found himself on more quiet streets and began to hum a soft tune to himself, which he later realised was the song Jesus had sang earlier whilst playing the guitar. He eventually made it back to Glenn and Maggie's and stopped outside, looking at his motorcycle.

He debated wether or not he should use it to get back to his place, he really wasn't feeling that hour long walk now but he still wasn't feeling talking to a random taxi driver either. He didn't want to take any risks. He had a fear of driving whilst under the influence, even if you were just under the limit, as once Merle had gotten into an accident on his bike which had terrified Daryl, thinking he would be left with Dad himself. He eventually decided against driving his bike back and walked up to the house door instead, heaving out a sigh before giving it a knock. He didn't really want to disturb Glenn and Maggie, especially since it was Glenn's birthday and they'd be doing god knows what and Daryl felt as if he'd already outstayed his welcome, but he would easily sleep on the floor if he had to, he just didn't prefer either of the other options he had. Maggie opened the door, still wearing the clothes she was at the party, she smiled as she saw Daryl.

"Hey, can I... Uh... Cra"

"Of course you can, you know you're always welcome" Maggie warmly smiled.

Daryl felt his heart flutter as he gave a shy smile in return and walked through the door.

"I'm still trying to tidy up everything so sorry for the mess, the kitchens done it's just here. Glenn's already passed out in our bed upstairs. Thought I'd leave him as a birthday treat" Maggie laughed as she placed her hands on her hips looking around the lounge which was littered in cups and random as sorts of chip flavours on the floor.

"I'll help tidy, least I can do" Daryl said as he began gathering up the empty and half empty red plastic cups and stacking them in a neat pile on the coffee table.

"Thank you." Maggie replied, gripping Daryl's arm and squeezing it.

Daryl smiled as he looked at Maggie who was giving him a soft smile. He had always felt a bond with Maggie, like she was his sister. He had actually always wanted a sister, or maybe he was drawn to Maggie and Michonne as they were a mother figure, although they were both younger than him. Daryl felt it was his duty to protect them and in return they were always very gentle and kind with him. He really felt like they were both family.

"How was Jesus? Did he behave himself?" Maggie then asked, giving Daryl a flash of a cheeky smile.

"Fine, chatty" Daryl mumbled in reply.

Maggie laughed, shaking her head, "he is quite the chatterbox, more so when he's had a few to drink" she smiled, dusting crumbs into her hand from the coffee table.

Eventually the pair finished tidying and the lounge was back to way it looked before any party guests had arrived.

"I'll just sleep on the couch" Daryl said to Maggie as they looked around the room, making sure they'd gotten rid of every stray chip.

"You sure? We got the spare room upstairs" Maggie raised her eyebrows giving Daryl a slightly concerned look.

"Nah, s'fine" he said, trying to give a small smile but failing and coming out with a very awkward and looking forced smile.

"If you're sure. I'll get you a blanket and one of Glenn's shirts, something comfier to sleep in" she replied, walking out the room and heading upstairs.

Daryl sat down on the red couch and began unlacing his shoes and yanking them from his feet. He looked at the clock on the wall and it read 2:40am. He yawned at the thought of how late, or early it was and let out an exasperated sigh as he leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes. Maggie then returned with a blue woollen blanket and a pair of black sweatpants and a dark grey tshirt. Daryl could see from the couch that the shirt would be very tight on him, considering the size of Glenn and Daryl's broad shoulders. He took the clothes anyway and thanked Maggie.

"You know where I am if you need me, goodnight" She said as she turned off the light and left the room, leaving only the street lamps from outside to light the room. Daryl pulled on the sweatpants which were also a little tight fitted but more comfortable to sleep in that his jeans. The t-shirt made his biceps bulge with how fitted it was on him. He kept on his socks as his feet were still cold from the outside and then swung his legs on to the couch and pulled the woollen blanket over his body. He fell asleep pretty quickly, his mind replaying the whole night as he drifted off into a dream state.

* * *

 He awoke in the morning abruptly to a shout as Glenn entered the room.

"Jesus Christ, what are you doing here I shit myself" Glenn exclaimed as he rubbed his weary eyes, groggily stepping over Daryl's pile of clothing to the other couch.

He was wearing nothing but sweatpants and his reading glasses as he dropped into the couch with a massive sigh.

"Good morning to you too asshole" Daryl mumbled, voice raspy as he lifted himself up to a sitting position on the couch.

Glenn grabbed the tv remote from the coffee table and switched on the TV which began playing at almost it's full volume. Glenn made a loud groan and screwed his face is frustration as he immediately began thumping his thumb rapidly on the volume button in attempts to lower the sound of 'Family Feud' playing on the TV.

"Hey sleepy heads" Maggie said as she stood in the doorway, leaning on the doorframe, also wearing her reading glasses and a baggy tshirt and shorts.

"I'll treat you to a cooked breakfast since you had such a hard night last night" she sarcastically smirked at the two men in the room before turning and walking into the kitchen.

"I love youuuu" Glenn shouted to her, croaky morning voice visible.

Daryl then saw the screen of his phone light up as he glanced at it where he'd placed it on the coffee table the night before. He picked it up and saw that his charge was at 34%, not as bad as usual. He then checked and saw that he had a text from an unknown number. He rubbed the crust from his eyes before unlocking his phone and checking his messages.

 

> _**Unknown Number ~** hey, it's Jesus. Got your number from Tara incase you were wondering. Just wanted to say thanks for walking me home last night, I'll have to get you back one day, you'll maybe see me staring through your shop window from across the street x_

Daryl grumbled as he read the text, he didn't even know Tara had his number and he wasn't sure how she got it if he couldn't remember giving it to her. He held the phone in his hand, wondering if he should reply, and what he should say if he did.

He'd wait til he had breakfast to decide. A hungry brain never makes good decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry it's a little shorter than usual but hopefully it gave a little more insight to Daryls past which may come up later in the story. 
> 
> I just watched the recent episode and wow I can't wait to see what part Jesus plays in the rescue of Daryl :)
> 
> also a sidenote - I'm meeting Tom at WSC London next year and I'm in the midst of making him a book of fanart, so if you or anyone you know has any art they'd like for him to see please get in touch with me on tumblr @yikespinkman !


	8. Chapter 8

Daryl shovelled the bacon and pancakes which he'd drenched in maple syrup into his mouth, as if he hadn't had a proper meal in weeks. Maggie really had gone all out with the cooked breakfast, the full shebang: eggs, bacon, pancakes, sausages, hash browns (Daryl's personal favourite), baked beans and toast. It was a treat for Daryl, he'd usually only get a cooked breakfast if he went to _Denny's_ or some other fast food-esq breakfast place but home cooked would always beat anything he payed for. He looked to his left and saw Glenn mirroring his actions of shovelling forkfuls into his mouth, he was obviously feeling the effect of the alcohol he consumed last night, it _was_ his birthday so exceptions were made.

Maggie had also joined them in the lounge, sitting on the couch next to Daryl with her pink slipper fitted feet leaning on the coffee table, she, however, was eating a bowl of granola and yoghurt, the more healthy breakfast option whilst she flicked through pages of the book she was reading. Glenn had now opened up Netflix on his TV and was watching an episode of _"The Office"_ , something easily watched whilst enduring a hangover. There was the occasional giggle heard from Glenn's direction as his eyes were glued to the TV screen as he absent mindedley directed his forkful of scrambled egg towards his mouth, taking a blind guess as to where his target was as his eyes didn't remove their stare from the TV. Daryl had seen a couple episodes of the show because of Glenn and Rick but had never watched it all the way through, he could find some parts funny, Dwight Schrute's abnormal antics and Michael Scott just being, well, _Michael Scott -_  he'd maybe get round to watching the show all the way through at some point especially since his friends always made references he never quite understood.

Daryl had purposely pushed the memory of Jesus' random text to the back of his mind so he didn't have to be reminded that he'd probably have to reply to it at some point during the day. He still didn't really know what to reply with, Jesus had said he'd pay him back in some way, did he reply to that? Did he reply to Jesus just saying thanks in general? He kind of wanted to just address the _"thank you"_ part of the text, he could easily reply to that with a simple _"no problem"_ , but he'd rather ignore Jesus' sly request for them to meet again. He was also definitely going to ignore the _"staring at you from across the street"_ comment. Making sure Glenn nor Maggie were looking at him, not that he would've really minded if they were, he lifted his empty plate to his face and licked away all the remnants of maple syrup, he felt some of it get on the scruff around his lips as the sticky substance attached itself to the hairs, he swiped his tongue around his lips in attempts to get rid of what he could but didn't quite reach every sticky part. He then placed the empty plate down on the coffee table, placing the fork and knife neatly across the middle.

Maggie looked up from her book and raised her eyebrows, snickering and she said "Someone was hungry" and gave Daryl a cheeky smirk before diverting her eyes back to the pages in front of her.

He returned the smirk in Maggie's direction and grabbed his phone from the table, pressing the home button and swiping the screen before typing in his password. He saw the red notification symbol next to the messages application and decided to ignore it, instead clicking on to a news app and scrolling through articles about world issues and politics all the way down to celebrity gossip, something Daryl would never usually choose to read about but in this case he was trying to stall for as long as possible. Eventually, he hesitantly pressed on the messages app and was greeted by Jesus' unexpected text from the early morning hours. He stared at the writing, Jesus could see that he'd read it now.

_Shit._

He'd have to reply or he'd look like a grade-A dick. He tapped his thumb on his phone and lifted up his other hand and rubbed the scruff on his chin, trying to figure out what to reply to the _"hipsters"_ odd message. Daryl typed some words, stared at them then deleted them repeating the same activity over multiple times before finally settling on a message and sending it before he could continue procrastinating for another few minutes.

>   _ **Daryl (11:36am) ~** yeah, ok _

Daryl stared at his phone screen. It was a very simple text for him to have been fretting over for such a long time. He quickly locked his phone and placed it on his lap and cleared his throat before perching his elbow on the arm of the couch and resting his chin on his hand. He felt almost a small adrenaline rush from sending the text, he rarely got texts from anyone other than Rick or Glenn, and they never made him feel this way. It was probably because Jesus was most like a stranger to Daryl, he hardly knew anything about him and last night was the most time they'd ever spent together. He shook off the feeling and then his heart jumped when he felt a buzz on his thigh as his phone vibrated due to an oncoming message. He cleared his throat again, looking up to see if Glenn or Maggie were looking at him before picking up his phone to look at it again. He didn't really know why he was paranoid about Maggie or Glenn seeing but he felt the need to be very sly whilst texting on his phone. He unlocked said phone to see Jesus had replied to his message.

>   ** _Unknown number ~_ ** _you know you'd enjoy that ;) In all seriousness though, thanks for last night, how about lunch tomorrow? If you're at work that is. I'd feel bad not paying back somehow x_

Daryl's heart beat increased in speed and he swallowed the also increasing amount of saliva building up in his mouth. He did have work the next day and Sunday's were always a drag. He usually ate lunch by himself in the back of the shop, maybe eating somewhere different for once would make the day more bearable. But he also wasn't sure if he wanted to spend lunch with Jesus of all people, he wasn't fully comfortable around him. What would they even talk about? Daryl knew he must be interested in art, but he wasn't sure if he himself wanted to share that interest, well the photography aspect, with Jesus, considering he didn't think anyone really knew about it.

It wasn't that he was embarrassed by the interest, or maybe he was, he didn't look very much like an _"arty person"_ and everyone usually just presumed his only interests were bikes and, well not much else. Only Glenn knew about his love for comic books, something else that he'd rather not share with the stranger, he didn't know what Jesus would think of him. He maybe had his preconceptions of Daryl and already had some sort of idea of who he was just by asking his other friends or by reading him himself. Also, maybe if he went to lunch the guy would leave him be. Daryl mimicked his actions from earlier of typing and deleting and then re-typing, obviously not realising that Jesus would be able to see the _"typing"_ bubble disappear and re-appear every 10 seconds.

>   ** _Daryl (11:47am) ~_ ** _ok what time?_

He finally decided on, heart fluttering as he waited on a reply, the thought of interacting with someone he didn't really know really made him quite the bit nervous. He wasn't quite sure why Jesus wanted to spend time with him in the first place, he didn't think he deserved to be "repaid" for what he did, especially as he probably wouldn't have done it if Maggie hadn't been the one to ask him. He pressed on the unknown number and added it to his contacts under _"Jesus"_ much to his distaste. He would've used Paul but he felt too formal saying that, especially as he'd never actually heard anyone else call him by his actual name. He saw the "typing" bubble appear on his phone screen as Jesus typed out a reply from wherever he may be and he felt his hands becoming more sweaty as they left damp fingerprints on the screen of his phone.

>   ** _Jesus (11:50am) ~ i_ ** _s 1:30 okay? Sunday's are usually quiet in the shop so I can usually get off with a slightly longer lunch break_
> 
> **_Daryl (11:51am) ~_ ** _yeah fine_
> 
> **_Jesus (11:52am) ~_ ** _great! I'll meet you outside your shop_

Daryl locked his phone again and placed it back on the table where he first picked it up from, then lifting his hand up and scratching the back of his head. Suddenly, Glenn let out a huge belch as his enormous breakfast made a comeback. Daryl snickered as he turned to Maggie who looked up from her book, mouth wide open in a mix of shock and disgust.

"Doesn't that prove how great it is?" Glenn gave a teethy smile to his wife making his eyes crinkle.

Maggie tutted as her mouth turned into a smile and she couldn't help herself from giggling at Glenn. She shook her head and turned her attention back to her book. Daryl sighed as he made himself more comfortable on the couch, leaning his head back and closing his eyes as a small smile grew across his face as he took in the moment.

* * *

 5 episodes of _'The Office'_ later and a large mug of coffee, Daryl got changed and headed home, not before he thanked Glenn and Maggie for their hospitality, giving them both warm hugs before he stepped out of the house towards his motorcycle. He took the bike helmet from the seat of his Harley, it was covered in stickers he'd collected over the years, stickers of flags, states, rock bands, the lot. You could tell which ones he'd had there the longest as they'd started to fade and curl at the edges but Daryl felt nostalgic whenever he looked at them and didn't have the heart to cover them up or replace them. He revved the engine into life and made his way home. He stopped by a McDonald's before he got home, ordering a 20 Mcnugget share box with a large fries and strawberry milkshake. The ultimate hangover cure, although he wasn't exactly suffering from one he felt like treating himself anyway, plus chicken nuggets were his guilty pleasure food.

 Daryl scoffed down his junk food when he got home, finishing it in record time, licking every last morsel from his fingers and then taking his phone from his pocket and picking up his charger from the coffee table, plugging it into a socket and turning on the switch feeling the buzz in his hand as his phone began to charge back up. He then heaved a sigh as he sank down into his couch closing his eyes to catch 40 winks. He woke up a couple hours later blinking hard as he adjusted to the lighting of the room, then rubbing his eyes. He groaned as he hauled himself up from his slouched position on the couch and hobbled over to his phone, turning off the switch at the socket and un-attaching it from the charger, shoving it in his pocket again. He walked over to his fridge and pulled open the door to the blinding white light inside, blinding himself for a second, narrowing his eyes as the light glared in his face. He pulled out a bottle of water from the side compartment and slammed the door shut decreasing the amount of light entering the room as all the curtains were drawn.

He walked towards his bedroom, water bottle in hand before throwing it on his bed as he began to unbutton his shirt which was beginning to get uncomfortable the longer it was on his back. He threw it on the bed next to his water and pulled open his drawer, grabbing the top t-shirt on the pile; a dark grey acid wash one, and pulled it over his head. He then opened his closet and raked around the hangers finally deciding on a plain black hoodie and also pulling that over his head on top of his t-shirt. He then grabbed his mom's old camera from his messy desk covered in sheets of paper, pens, printed pictures and an ash tray full of cigarette stubs. He slung the strap over his neck, letting his neck hold the weight of the device as he walked through the house, grabbing his keys from the coffee table and heading outside the front door, locking it behind him.

The sun was almost setting and the skies were pink and purple with slithers of orange throughout. What was left seen of the sun for that day was peeking from behind the clouds, luminosity making Daryl screw his face up, frowning so that he didn't get blinded by the light. It was a good night for photography; picture perfect cotton candy skies in a forest setting, birds singing and the sound of the soft wind blowing the leaves leading to a very peaceful setting, just what Daryl needed after last nights antics. He made his way into the forest, the trees getting denser the farther he walked his usual route. He occasionally saw a pretty flower or a scene of the sunset just peeking through a space in the trees and took a few photos. If he was lucky, sometimes he would spot some wildlife, deer, foxes, a slightly more exotic bird than a sparrow. He was a good tracker which came to his advantage when he went outside specifically for the purpose of photographing wildlife.

He and Merle used to do it as kids, usually for hunting purposes but after Merle died, Daryl grew out of that, he preferred to capture natures true beauty through the means of capturing a moment on his camera rather than killing said nature for sport. He still had Merles crossbow strung up on the wall of his bedroom, he kept it more as a memoriam and on the off chance that he ever had a home intruder. Daryl breathed in the fresh forest air, kneeling down and closing his eyes as he exhaled before opening them again to look through the view finder trying to keep a steady hand as he took a few shots of a [flame azalea flower](https://www.nps.gov/chat/learn/nature/images/Vickery-Creek-5-3-06-019.jpg), water droplets resting on its petals glimmering in the light of the setting sun. He then stood up and looked at the photos, choosing the one he liked most and deleting the others to conserve what little memory he had left on his SD card. He continued this until the sun was fully set and it was too dark to take any good photos, he also didn't want to use his flash in case he spooked some animals. He used the torch on his phone to guide his way back through the woods to his house, treading carefully to avoid any creatures on their nightly duties.

He reached his house and took the key from his pocket, fitting it into the keyhole and turning letting himself inside. He lifted the strap from his neck and placed the camera on his coffee table and started to walk to his bedroom before he abruptly stopped in his tracks before turning back towards his door to lock it up for the night. He then placed his key on a little hanger next to the door and continued on his interrupted trip to the bedroom. He took off his hoodie and threw it over his desk chair and then headed back to the kitchen where he opened a cupboard and grabbed a packet of chips then opening the fridge and also taking a carton of orange juice from one of the shelves.

He made his way over to the living room and picked up the TV remote before launching himself onto the couch, letting out a low moan as he stretched out his legs across the length of the couch, laying his carton of OJ on his lower stomach and stretching his arm out as he pointed the remote to the TV in attempts to turn it on. He flicked through the channels before settling on one showing a documentary about the possibility of humans living on Mars. Daryl raised his eyebrows and sighed as he watched the scientists _"science-ing the shit"_ out of all their possible theories. He shook his head and screwed his face as he opened his bag of chips and began shovelling them in his mouth crunching loudly as he continued watching the show despite his opinion on it.

* * *

 

 Daryl woke as the slither of light coming from the gap in his curtains stung in his eyes as it glared right in his face. He screwed up his face and grumbled as he sat up and looked at his watch. 7:56am.

"Shit,shit, shit, shit" Daryl exclaimed as he quickly sat up straight and jumped from the couch.

He speed walked to his bathroom quickly brushing his teeth before leaning down and tying his undone lace which had untied itself during his slumber and then grabbing his hoodie from his desk chair and throwing it over his head. He realised the TV was still playing and quickly rushed to the remote to turn it off before grabbing the carton of orange juice which he'd obviously fallen asleep before getting to and shoving it in his hoodie pocket. He grabbed a black baseball cap that was laying on his kitchen counter and shoved it on his head in attempts to cover up his bed head which he didn't have time to tame. He then groaned as he noticed his motorcycle helmet on the floor next to a pair of muddy boots. He took off his cap and clipped it to his belt before replacing it on his head with his helmet, sliding down the visor before heading out the door and locking it behind him. He ran to his motorcycle and vaulted his leg over the seat and revved the engine, checking his watch again which read 8:09am. 

He was going to be overwhelmingly late, his shift was meant to start at 7:30 and by the time he arrived at the shop it was 8:24, almost an hour late. He may have been the head of his specific store but if the big company boss found out that he was that late he wouldn't take it very lightly. Negan was quite the character, he was a bit of a douche but his humour made quite a lot of people enjoy his company. His vocabulary was very colourful and he cussed every second sentence but if you brushed him up the wrong way he was not the person to be in an argument with.

Daryl wasn't really sure how he felt about him, sometimes he'd be great to Daryl, he was the one to give him the promotions he'd had over the years but Daryl had also seen sides of Negan he'd rather not. There had been a couple instances where Daryl had walked in at the wrong moment and Negan was giving a very stern talking to a younger employee for whatever reason, it was a known fact that many of the employees were very intimidated by him and his seemingly faked charm and charisma made him all the more unpredictable. This being said, Daryl had decided it was best for him to just stay civil as far as possible and nothing more, he didn't want to hate the guy because then he'd detest the fact he worked for him but he also didn't particularly want to befriend him as he'd then look like he thought of himself superior to his younger workers who Negan had talked down upon.

As Daryl barged through the door into the shop he made his way to the back of the store straight away to see exactly what he was dreading. Negan was sitting in a desk chair in mid conversation with Dwight, one of the store workers who Daryl had never particularly been entirely fond of. When the two men heard the door open as Daryl staggered in, they swiftly turned round to face him, Negan swivelling round on his spinning chair and flashing a shit-eating grin in Daryl's direction.

"Daryl! Where in the fuck fuckity fuck have you been?" Negan enquired, unsettling grin still plastered on his face.

"Uh... Broken down car, h-held up traffic. Bike... ran outta gas" Daryl tried bullshitting his way out of a situation that could have held worse consequences if he were to tell the real reason.

"You know you have to call when you're gonna be late right?" Negan retorted, his head was tilted down and his eyes looking up towards Daryl, narrowed as his smile turned slowly more into a growl.

"Yeah... Uh... Sorry bout that. Sorry" Daryl managed to stutter in reply.

He for sure wasn't going to tell Negan the truth that he'd just slept in and he was still wearing the same clothes he had slept in, he wasn't sure how he'd react if he told him the full truth.

"Yeah well you better make up for it. Don't ever do that shit again" Negan frowned before letting his mouth gradually grow back into his rather unnerving smile.

"I'll work later tonight, make up for what I missed" Daryl offered.

"That's my man!" Negan laughed as he stood up and patted Daryl roughly on the shoulder.

"See Dwighty boy? This is the kind of things I need to hear from my workers." He continued, waving his arm around the room ending at Daryl whilst smiling at Dwight who wore a blank expression on his face.

"How many times you worked late? I'm sure Daryl could kindly give me a run down by just countin' the amount o' times on one fuckin' hand!" Negan leaned into Dwights face at the last part, shoving his hand, fingers spread, in front of his face using his other hand to point at the outstretched fingers one at a time, each time, a finger went down until there were none left.

"Now, I wanna see you two get back to work! No exceptions" he said, while taking a glance at both Daryl and Dwight before lightly slapping Dwight on the back of his head before heading out towards the exit.

"Same time next week!" He hollered as he threw open the door and walked out the shop.

"How'd you get away with shit like that" Dwight turned to Daryl as soon as Negan was out of earshot, "bullshit, ain't been no car accidents" he spat.

"Yeah well maybe speaking bullshits the way to go, try it sometime instead of wiping his ass" Daryl replied, exhaling sharply through his nose at the last word.

"Humph, works for some" Dwight rolled his eyes and glared then turned on his feet and walked into the main shop as he heard a customer come through the door.

Daryl grunted as he turned to the desk in the corner of the room and placed his motorcycle helmet down on the surface with a klunk. He then took his baseball cap which was clipped onto his belt and placed it on his head, flattening the whisps of hair on the top of his head. He heaved a sigh as he plonked himself on to the still-warm-from-Negan office chair and spun himself round so he was facing the desk. He shifted his helmet up to the left corner and dragged some paperwork from a pile on the right side of the desk to the centre and switched on the laptop which was next to the pile of sheets. He rubbed his eyes and rest his head in his hands as he listened to the laptop start-up music, he hadn't felt this tired in a while, he wasn't sure why he was so tired either when he got plenty sleep, he guessed it was just all catching up on him.

He then took a deep breath in and out before typing in the laptop user password and grabbing a pen from the holder on the desk. He began filling out the parts of paperwork he could do on hand and continuously yawned for the entirety of each flick of a new sheet of paper. He stared at the laptop screen, his eyes straining from fatigue as he typed out pricing codes and numbers and names whilst making company spreadsheets. He'd much rather be doing the more practical things than the paperwork but it needed to be done and at least he had Dwight to cover some time for him today. He yawned as his eyes began to bat more frequently and fade into darkness for a couple seconds before he regained full consciousness and would rub his eyes, it was only 11:30am and he was on his third coffee which didn't seem to be affecting him as much as he would've liked.

Daryl was shook from his slumber by Dwight shouting something from the other room. Daryl looked at his watch which read 1:30pm, he groaned realising he had slept on the job.

"Daryl, what're you doing man?! Someone waiting on you" Dwight called, agitation clear in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah m'comin" Daryl shouted back in reply.

He rubbed his eyes one last time and yawned as he staggered through to the main shop, only to be greeted by no other face than Jesus'. Daryl's stomach dropped immediately as he recalled His lunch plans with the man. His palms began to sweat and he felt his face turn bright red as the smaller man looked up at him, Dwight standing next to him, giving a strange look at Daryl before turning to go into the back of the store.

"You weren't outside so I thought you must've forgotten" Jesus said breaking the silence between the pair.

"Yeh... Uh sorry" Daryl mumbled in reply.

"Anyway we should get going, lunch is only an hour right," Jesus replied, turning round and waving his hand at Daryl in a 'follow me' motion.

Daryl nodded his head in return and followed Jesus out of the shop, wiping the buildup of sweat on his forehead away before stepping out into the cool air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaa they're going on a low key lunch date would you believe? Anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter and an introduction to Negan and Dwight (they'll only play small parts don't worry..) 
> 
> talk to me on tumblr - yikespinkman 
> 
> also i realised last chapter in my notes I wrote I was giving Tom a "good of frank"..... what I meant to say was a "book of fanart" so I apologise for any confusion haha


	9. Chapter 9

"You ever been to Alexandria?" Jesus enquired as he led Daryl down the street.

Daryl narrowed his eyes, obviously a little confused of the context of the question. Jesus saw the look on his face and expanded.

"It's a little cafe, restaurant type thing, just round the corner?"

"Nah" Daryl mumbled, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets.

He was a little embarrassed, he had completely forgotten he was meant to be meeting up with Jesus for lunch and he was tired and hadn't showered in a couple days and was wearing the same clothes he'd slept in, also he hadn't even changed his underwear for three days. He just hoped that the deodorant he had sprayed on himself masked the smell of his grimy body and sweaty clothes. Not that Jesus would be the kind of person to call him out on something like that even if he did notice, Daryl presumed he was too polite for that, despite that, he still felt embarrassed that he was going somewhere for dinner looking like he made no effort at all. Daryl lifted his baseball cap from his head and pushed a hand through his hair and sighed when he felt how greasy it was, returning his cap to hide it.

"Well you're in for a treat, Tara, Rosita and I come here a lot it's really nice. I can recommend the best meals if you wish" Jesus turned his head round and flashed a kind smile to Daryl.

Daryl looked at him in the eyes for a couple seconds before returning his gaze to the ground. Jesus was a few steps ahead of him, Daryl didn't really want to get close to him in fears that he noticed how unprepared he was for this outing, immediately regretting to agreeing to the offer of the younger man. Daryl gave a faint nod in Jesus' direction as he continued to follow him down the street, dragging his feet along the pavement due to the lack of sleep he'd had in the past few nights. He wished the caffeine from the coffee he'd had would take toll soon.

The men turned the corner to reveal _'Alexandria'_ , the place looked nice Daryl had to admit, maybe a little too fancy looking for his taste but nice nonetheless. The restaurant sign was written in very fancy cursive writing, below it were tables topped with beige umbrellas shading the customers eating their food below. Daryl could see through the windows of the building that it looked quite busy inside and there was plenty hustle and bustle and clanging of cutlery. Jesus held open the door for Daryl to walk in, he uttered a thanks as he passed the man and looked up from the ground to observe the place. There were quite a lot of people, more than Daryl's liking and even though they were all busy eating their food and chatting away he still felt as if they were looking him up and down.

 He didn't look like the average _'Alexandria'_ customer. Everyone there seemed dressed well, some were in suits and had briefcases whom he guessed were on a lunch break from work. He felt very underdressed in his hoodie and baseball cap but there was no way in hell he was going to take any of them off to reveal his sweat-stained-armpit t-shirt and greasy hair. Jesus then walked up beside Daryl's left side and leaned over to speak.

"Where do you want to sit?" He asked, voice loud enough to be heard over the noisy restaurant.

"Uh..." Daryl mumbled as he scanned the room, spotting a table for two in the back corner of the restaurant, slightly isolated from the busy tables in the centre of the room.

He started walking towards the table, trying not to make eye contact with anyone at the tables he passed, feeling their eyes burn into him as they looked him up and down obviously judging his appearance. Jesus followed him as he zig-zagged through the tables trying to get to the corner table as soon as possible. They eventually got there and Daryl slumped down on one of the seats, hands still in his hoodie pockets and his eyes gazing forward at nothing in particular. Jesus took the seat across from him, pulling it out before sitting himself down, noticing that Daryl diverted his gaze down at the table when Jesus looked at him. Jesus grabbed the menus from the rack in the middle of the table and handed one to Daryl.

"Here, choose anything you want it's on me." He smiled at the biker.

Daryl removed his hands from his pockets and took the menu from Jesus, then scanning it for the cheapest meal. He didn't want Jesus paying for his food and he definitely wasn't going to pick _anything_ he wanted, he already felt bad making him pay for anything no matter the price. He stared absentmindedly at the list of obnoxious sounding sandwiches; _smoked salmon, cream cheese and egg, cheese and chutney, beef and horseradish_. Why did they have to be pretentious couldn't they have just had cheese and ham or chicken mayo, something that didn't sound like it was for a high class family who often had fancy afternoon teas and feasted on caviar. Daryl sighed as he scanned the menu further, then seeing an option for a cheeseburger, finally something more his style. The price wasn't bad but it was pretty pricey for an ordinary cheeseburger, it would have to do considering nothing else on the menu seemed to grab his attention. A waitress then came over, smile on her face as she greeted the men.

"Jesus, nice to see you! And who's this!" She smiled gesturing towards Daryl.

"Hey Amy, how are you? This is my friend Daryl" Jesus smiled back at the blonde, curly headed girl.

Daryl avoided eye contact with the smiley girl and continued to re-read the menu.

"Well nice to meet you Daryl I hope you enjoy Alexandria!" She giggled.

"Uh... Yeah" Daryl replied, trying to show at least a small fake smile to the blonde before returning to the menu.

"Anyway, what drinks can I get for you boys?"

"I'll have... Hmm" Jesus hummed as he scanned the menu with his index finger before haunting at one of the drinks.

"The homemade cloudy lemonade please" He settled on, looking up at Amy.

"Homemade cloudy lemonade" Amy repeated mumbling as she wrote the order on her notebook, "And what about you?"

"Uh... Chocolate shake?" Daryl mumbled, almost embarrassed by his slightly childish choice for the type of restaurant he was in.

Despite, Amy looked delighted as she scrawled down the order, a sparkle in her eyes.

"I'll be back in a few to take your food orders!" She grinned as she turned on her feet and trotted away through a door to the back of the kitchen.

Daryl saw Jesus grinning after her, watching fondly as the waitress endearingly apologised to people she bumped into on her way to the kitchen.

"She's nice, she was in the year below me. A little ditsy but very likeable" Jesus turned to face Daryl, "probably not your type at all"

Daryl was slightly taken aback by the remark, Jesus was right he guessed, she was the personality type that Daryl seemed to despise. Also a similar personality type found in the man sitting across from him, closed-mouth smile planted on his lips. Jesus obviously saw the confusion on Daryl's face and chuckled before taking his menu and folding it up, placing it back in the rack in the centre of the table. Daryl watched Jesus intently and then copied his actions and placed his menu in the rack alongside the other. He then clasped his hands together, tapping his fingers on his knuckles and staring at the motion of his fingertips in attempts to look occupied as he felt Jesus' gaze on him once again. Jesus then broke the silence between the pair,

"did you get home okay on Friday night?".

Daryl looked into his eyes for a brief few seconds which were filled with genuine interest.

"Stayed with Glenn and Maggie" Daryl replied, eyes still glued to his repetitive finger rhythm.

"Oh" Jesus paused, running the fingers of his left hand through his beard before continuing.

"I'm sorry I caused you trouble, I could've walked myself. I guess this is why we're here right?" He exhaled sharply with a smile on his face, eyes still locked on Daryl's own.

Before Daryl could reply, Amy came over holding a tray with their drinks balanced on top, toothy grin still apparent as she placed the drinks in their designated spots on the table before taking the men's order for food. Daryl ordering the cheeseburger with a side of fries and Jesus the _grilled Gouda and zucchin_ i panini, something Daryl had never known existed 'til that moment. Daryl grabbed his glass of chocolate shake and opened his mouth grasping the straw with his teeth and drinking a quarter of the glass within seconds. Jesus' eyes widened at the mans actions, the corner of his lips turning into a smirk as he lifted his glass of lemonade to his mouth and took a sip.

"So, how's work so far today?" Jesus said, placing the glass down onto the table where it had left a small puddle of water from the condensation.

"Hm" Daryl shrugged and took the straw in his shake and started stirring it making a small whirlwind in the liquid.

He looked up at Jesus who looked like he was waiting for something more, a wait that would never end. After realising that was all Daryl had to say about the matter, he opened his mouth to speak and then stopped himself, then giving a small nod instead before taking a couple more sips of his lemonade.

"Shop is always quiet on a Sunday" the younger man then piped in, figuring Daryl wasn't going to return his enquires.

The men sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence for a couple minutes before the waitress returned with their food. Daryl sat up straight as he noticed the plate topped with his cheeseburger making its way to the table and then set down in front of him, alongside his bowl of fries. Jesus smiled in thanks as he was handed his panini, despite the strange filling combination, Daryl had to admit it looked delicious. But then again it didn't take much for Daryl to think something looked delicious one thing that he wasn't was a fussy eater. He shovelled the fries in his mouth, forgetting for a moment he was accompanied for his dinner and his cheeks flushed red when he looked up to see Jesus with an amused look on his face. Daryl then slowed down his pace of eating and decided to take one fry at a time and chewing slowly, more like proper lunch etiquette. Daryl finished his cheeseburger whilst Jesus was still left eating his panini.

"You want a bit?" The younger man suddenly asked, reaching out to Daryl with the panini in his hand.

"Uh...nah, thanks..." Daryl furrowed his brows in reply.

He fumbled to get the straw from his milkshake in his mouth, trying to catch the straw with his tongue and heat rose up to his cheeks once he grasped onto the straw, looking up to see Jesus snickering into his own straw. Daryl adjusted his baseball cap further down his head in attempts to cover his eyes more so he didn't have to make as much eye contact. He let go of the straw with his teeth and covered his mouth as he heaved out a yawn, then rubbing his face with his hands before sighing.

"Long night?" Jesus piped up, watching the older man rub his eyes.

"Huh, yeah" Daryl huffed before closing his eyes tightly shut and opening them wide trying to stretch them to stay awake.

"Me too, I should stop watching so much TV series', it keeps me up at night" Jesus smiled in return. "What about you? Watch any TV shows?" He continued.

"Um... Not really, no" Daryl lied to protect his closet nerd.

There were still around 25 minutes of lunch hour left, he couldn't exactly leave early so he would just have to bear through the awkwardness for the time being. It would probably be better if there were someone else to join them, to divert Jesus' attention to them instead him being fully focused on Daryl. It also didn't help that he didn't think they shared much of any interest at all other than art but even then Daryl still didn't feel comfortable bringing that up.

"Oh, well I can give you a whole list of recommendations if you need anything to watch" The hipster replied, waving his arms out to show the size of list he was talking about.

Daryl looked up from his drink to make eye contact with Jesus for a brief few seconds, egging him on to start the list so he would have a break from talking for a while, and to pass the time until they had to return to their jobs. Jesus began the extensive list, pointing at his fingers on one hand with the other each time he listed a show. He would name the show and then give a brief synopsis and then his opinion on it, Daryl zoned out after a while, his eyes drooping shut with fatigue, but his ears did prick up when he mentioned all the shows that Daryl and Glenn had watched together. Daryl was snapped out of his trance when Jesus finished his list.

"You can get most of them on Netflix, do you haven Netflix? I can give you my password if you want?"

Daryl fluttered his eyes open and looked up at Jesus, "Uh... I...uhm..." He stuttered, trying to decipher what the man said to him whilst he was in his sleepy state.

"Nah, don't have one"

"Well I'll write my login down for you and you can use my account, Tara shares it too so no worries" He smiled back at Daryl, then grabbing a napkin from the table and fumbling in his pocket for a pen, finding one in his hoodie pocket, sometimes working in an art store had its perks.

He scrawled the login on the piece of tissue, covering it with his hand whilst sliding it over to Daryl on the table as if we're an illegal substance. Daryl took the tissue and folded it, then put it in his back Jean pocket saving it for later, if he was ever going use it. He uttered a shy thanks before Jesus started on another subject, his work and boss.

"Gregory's a douche. He's barely even there and when he is he's an ass to everyone. He always asks people to cover for him whilst he does God knows what, I don't know how the hell he's the store manager when he's never even in the building most of the time." Jesus ranted.

He was very gesticulative, his hands flailing and eyebrows raising and furrowing as he explained his story, it worked though, Daryl's attention was certainly averted towards the man as he made his wide arm gestures and very emotive faces. Daryl compared him to himself and how he looked while he was giving a similar story. He certainly understood why everyone found the man easy to get along with, he came across as very confident and friendly and his gestures and facial expressions definitely helped convey that.

Daryl was the complete opposite, he would sit hunched over not making eye contact whereas Jesus would sit straight up, and always look you in the eyes when making conversation. When Daryl was telling a story he'd mumble and use the same tone of voice the whole way through whereas Jesus would raise his, make himself sound nice and clear and convey his emotions through his use of tone attracting his audience. Daryl would fidget with his hands, tapping his fingers on the table or shoving them in his pockets, Jesus would wave his around making gestures and act out his story.

The two men really were chalk and cheese.

 Jesus seemed like the kind of person that would never associate themselves with someone like Daryl. Daryl was definitely the kind of person that never associated with people like Jesus. Yet here he was, listening to his stories on a lunch break and admiring all the traits he had which Daryl had longed for most of his lifespan. Daryl was so distracted just by how Jesus presented himself that he wasn't really listening to the story, as exciting as he made it look. He got the jist of it, Gregory was a dick. That was all he really needed to know he guessed, he thought all of his friends bosses were dicks maybe apart from Rick's. The chief commander of Rick's unit was a man named Ezekiel, Daryl had met him once before, he seemed like a decent man, very well spoken and kind and Rick had never had any negative things to say about him. Jesus finished his story with an exasperated sigh, taking a last sip from his drink before reaching the pile of ice cubes at the bottom of the glass.

"Sounds like a dick" Daryl rasped as he looked up at Jesus.

Jesus exhaled through his nose, a smirk growing on his face, "yeah you could say that."

"My boss is... Weird... I dunno" Daryl began, deciding to carry on the conversation.

"How come?" Jesus then replied, furrowing his brows and perching his elbow on the table, leaning his chin on his hand.

"I dunno he's kinda just... Strange like l... He's nice sometimes but other times he just cracks. It's like he's got this weird act goin' on all the time" Daryl drawled in his strong southern accent.

"He's been nice to me but... He's said some crazy shit to co-workers. I'm glad I've always been on his good side ya' know?" He continued, then taking a sip from his drink, chewing the straw.

"Hm, is there anyone you could tell if he maybe went to far one time?" Jesus had a legitimate look of concern on his face.

"Um... Nah... I couldn't say. I mean, he's the boss of the whole firm, ain't much I can do about him. Wanna keep my job too."

"Well, as long as he definitely doesn't go too far"

"Yeah" Daryl mumbled in return before finishing his milkshake.

"Can we get the bill please?" Jesus smiled as he alerted one of the restaurant waiters once they passed the table.

"We should do this again some time, I like the company. I'm usually just by myself for lunch hour." The smaller man grinned at Daryl who felt his cheeks heat up.

"Uh... Yeah sure. I'll have to pay though" he muttered in reply.

He still felt bad letting Jesus pay even if he had insisted. The waiter came over with the cheque to which Jesus' eyes scanned as he took his wallet out from his back pocket and placing $25 (including tip) on the little tray with he receipt on top. He put the wallet back in his pocket before Amy, the waitress came to pick it up, thanking him before getting on her way back to serve more customers. Jesus stood up and pushed in his chair, Daryl mirroring his actions before they both headed towards the exit, Daryl still keeping his eyes focused on the ground in front of him. They walked into the cool air before walking back round the corner to their work places. They walked in silence, not an uncomfortable one, more of a satisfied one.

"Thanks for coming with me, I'll see you whenever!" Jesus waved before turning on his feet and crossing the road to head towards the art store.

"Um... No problem... Uh thanks for having me" Daryl stuttered, returning a small wave towards Jesus before making his own way back into his work.

He walked into the shop, taking of his baseball cap and patting his hair down, which was now looking greasy as ever plastered to his head. He sighed deeply before making his way to the back of the shop to finish off the files he fell asleep whilst filling out. He was stopped midway by Dwight.

"The hell was that?" He muttered, curious of Daryl's random "lunch partner".

"Uh... Jesus, that's what people call 'im anyway" he mumbled, trying to get out of Dwight's slightly uncomfortable situation.

"Ain't he that gay guy from the shop across the street?" He then enquired, a smidge of a smirk captured on his face.

"Yeah, why?"

"Why you friends with him"

"He's a friend of a friend" Daryl replied gruff tone, he knew what Dwight was trying to imply and he wasn't going to stand for it.

He probably wouldn't even really class Jesus as a friend just yet but he didn't really know what else to call him. Acquaintance? Nah, that probably sounded even worse. Daryl huffed before heaving open the door to the back of the shop as he heard Dwight mutter to himself something about Daryl having friends, to which - jury's open, Daryl was surprised himself. He sat down and got to work, his lunch giving him the boost he needed to stay away and get everything done. It was probably a good thing that he was planning on staying in late today otherwise he'd just be pissed off he had to stay in late without planning to, so it was nobody's fault but his own.

* * *

 

 Daryl got home at around 7pm, he'd done a lot more than he planned to do, just so he could leave early the next time he was working. He was tired and smelly but still didn't have the motivation to shower, to which he decided he'd do the next morning. He sat in his usually spot on the couch and rested his feet on the coffee table, turning on the TV and flicking the channels before remembering Jesus' Netflix. He took the scrumpled napkin from his pocket and de-scrumpled it trying to decipher Jesus' handwriting in the creases of the paper. He already felt bad making Jesus pay for his lunch and now he was using his Netflix account, although, Jesus did definitely tell him it was okay. Plus Tara was supposedly using it too so it made him feel less responsible for Jesus' student loans sum never declining.

He logged into the account on his smart TV (the one he had saved up for months for) and began scrolling through the endless list of entertainment. He probably should watch one of the things Jesus suggested as to seem like Daryl had actually payed attention to his extensive list. He went through the list of names in his mind that he recalled the younger man listing and then eventually gave up, settling on finally starting _'The Office'_. He wasn't sure if Jesus had listed that one but Daryl had promised Rick and Glenn to watch it for years now and it was probably way overdue.

It wasn't until after Daryl had actually binged the whole first season that he heard a buzz emerge from his phone. He picked it up and pressed the home screen checking the notifications,

**_~ one new text from Jesus_ **

He read as he swiped on the screen, clicking on the number pad to let him into his phone. He unlocked it and went straight to the messages app and opened Jesus' message.

> _**Jesus ~** good choice, always one of my favourites!_

Daryl cocked his brow as he read the text then suddenly came to the realisation of what it was about. He had forgotten that Jesus could see everything that he was watching, a little embarrassing considering he just binged a whole season with no breaks in-between.

> _**Daryl ~** yeah Glenn and Rick watch it so I've seen a couple episodes _
> 
> _**Jesus ~** ahh! It's great to watch after a long day, some relief for the system :) _

Daryl smiled at his phone, thoroughly agreeing with the comment, it certainly was an easy watch. He was just away to place his phone back on the arm of the couch when came another buzz.

> _**Jesus ~** btw I forgot to ask you at lunch today (sorry!) but me and a couple friends are going to a haunted house scary walk-through thing this Saturday for Halloween, would like to see you there if you're up for it?_

Daryl swallowed as he read the offer. He's never really enjoyed Halloween, particularly as a kid. He was never allowed to go trick or treating or dress up. In fact the first time he carved a pumpkin was the year where his dad was away for the day on Halloween, his ma had went to the local pumpkin patch that was around each fall and picked out two big pumpkins and brought them home for her and Daryl to carve. Merle was a little too old at the time but Daryl was delighted at the idea. He remembered carving a face into it, quite proud of the outcome of he could say so himself. His mother has carved a face too, a lot more advanced looking than Daryl's; she had always been the creative type. He then remembered the pumpkin pie ma had made afterwards with the leftovers, it was one of Daryl's favourite treats and his mom's cooking/baking was always the best. Daryl could almost smell the ghost of the scent, looming from the kitchen as he closed his eyes and treasured the moment from his past. Daryl took the offer into consideration, if he got out of the house that night he could maybe suppress the unrelenting unhappy feeling he always dreaded when the day came each year, and also avoid all the trick or treaters that some how found their way to his porch (to which he never answered the door to).

> _**Daryl ~** who's all going? Jesus ~ so far, me, Tara, Rosita, Eugene, Sasha! Glenn's a maybe as is Aaron_

Daryl hummed, it wasn't his usual crowd. They were all nice and he's obviously met them before but he wasn't particularly close to any of them so if Glenn didn't come then he'd be a little screwed. He mulled over the activity before finally deciding on an answer. He'd rather be surrounded by friends on Halloween to distract him other than sitting in his house alone in the dark and wallowing in his own self pity.

> _**Daryl ~** ok I'll come where is it at?_
> 
> _**Jesus ~** great! And don't worry! Rosita is driving, she's picking up me and Tara, you can join us if you give me your address we'll be there at around 8pm?_

Daryl huffed. He didn't like giving people his address because it then gave them the opportunity to come visit whenever they liked. To which Daryl was most certainly opposed to unless it was planned, this was something Glenn had learned the hard way after turning up at Daryl's and being rudely rushed away as Daryl was in a severely bad mood that day. He gave in anyway and sent Jesus his address.

> _**Jesus ~** thanks! I'll see you then. Also you have to wear a costume or you don't get in ;)_

Daryl groaned at the winky emoticon at the end of the text. He didn't exactly want to dress up. He also didn't know what to dress up as, he was sure as a kid he would've loved to pretend to be something he wasn't but as an adult he just felt stupid. He got up from the couch and walked over and into his bedroom throwing open the closet to take a look inside for anything he could throw together. As he liked at the few items of clothing on the hangers, he sighed and stepped back closing the doors before taking off his hoodie and shirt, dropping them onto the floor haphazardly and falling back on to his bed. He closes his eyes taking in deep breaths and exhaling before kicking off his boots to the corner of the room. Then, still lying on the bed, he shuffled off his jeans onto the floor with very little enthusiasm. He then swung his legs up onto the bed and pulled the duvet over his body quickly drifting off into a deep sleep, hopefully this one would be enough to keep him awake the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the kudos and comments as always, hopefully ill get the next chapter up before Christmas (possibly Christmas eve) - a Halloween chapter at Christmas time how fitting.. 
> 
> I'm really excited to show you guys the oncoming chapters and I'm having a lot of fun writing them. Hopefully you won't be waiting long for uploads (probably one a week) as i'll be writing in the christmas holidays so I have things to upload whilst I'm busy doing a bunch of mock exams in Janurary!
> 
> anyway, talk to me on tumblr - yikespinkman :)


	10. Chapter 10

It was the afternoon of Halloween and Daryl was still yet to find a costume. He didn't particularly want to spend any money on one as he was most likely never going to use it ever again. It was two hours before Jesus was due to pick him up and he was staring into his closet, as if waiting for a costume to appear from thin air if he stared at it hard and long enough. The creative part of his brain needed oiling as it was clogged up with too many caffeine and work blueprints from the past week, so he was finding it a struggle to muster up any ideas for costumes.

He sighed deeply as he drew his hand across the line of clothes hangers for the third time. His hand abruptly stopped when it came to a black and white stripy t-shirt. He grabbed the hanger and unhooked it from the rail, holding up the shirt next to his body to check for size. He'd actually forgotten he owned the shirt, but he did only wear the same three outfits most days, his closet was probably due a clean out.

He took the t-shirt from the hanger and placed it on his bed, hooking the hanger back onto the rail in the closet. He pulled off the t-shirt he was already wearing and replaced it with the horizontally striped shirt, struggling a little to get the collar over his head. It was a little tight but it would have to do. 

The clothing stuck to his toned body, the fabric stretched across his broad shoulders and torso, the arm cuffs tight making his biceps more prominent. The shirt was a little short in length, it covered his tummy but if he stretched his arms upwards, the hem would rise and you could see his v-line along with the trail of hair leading down his belly button below his waistline. He was already wearing black jeans and a pair of boots so he went to the coat cupboard in the hallway, pulling it open to reveal the pile of mixed clothing items. He looked on one of the shelves to find the plastic box full of hats, gloves and scarves for winter. He stuck his hand into the box, grabbing the plain black beanie from the shambles and brushing off the excess fluff from the material. He pulled it over his head, twisting it into place before going back to his room.

He looked into the full length mirror, he didn't have an eye mask, but he was pretty sure it was obvious that he was a stereotypical [robber](https://goo.gl/images/kOa7AC), he could maybe find a _"swag bag"_ somewhere in the house but at least now he knew he didn't have to get a costume anymore. He removed the shirt and hat, placing them on his bed for later and walked into the kitchen.

He raked through one of the cupboards under the sink to find some sort of bag. He found a sack of potatoes, of which he couldn't remember having so was not the best idea to be eating said potatoes inside the bag. He yanked out the bag, emptying the potatoes into his trash can with a look of disgust on his face and flinging the material onto his dining table. He then went to his room, opening the drawer in his desk and rumbling through the miscellaneous stationary and odd junk before finding a thick black permanent marker. He brought it back to the dining table and stood above the potato sack, leaning both his hands against the surface of the table, clicking his tongue. 

He then leaned over the bag, pen in hand and began trying his best at drawing a bubble letter dollar sign. He drew the outline before standing straight at the table, looking over his work. He then pulled out one of the chairs at the table and sat down, beginning to colour the inside of the dollar sign. He leaned his head on his arm resting on the table as he coloured the sign, tongue slightly visible, poking out the right side of his mouth in a face of concentration. He finished colouring and popped the pen kid back on the marker, then grabbing the sack and holding it up in front of him; not bad for a not very arty person, as simple as it was. He placed it on the table before heading out his front door and towards the garage, heaving open the door and switching on the light inside.

He shifted around the various tools and vehicle parts on the ground, heading towards the back of the garage where a short, thin line of rope was looped over a hook on the wall next to a hacksaw. He grabbed the rope, slinging it over his shoulder before heading back out the garage, closing the door behind him.

He went inside the house and lay the rope out on the table in a straight line, perfect size. He then took his _"swag bag"_ and used the rope to tie a knot around the opening of the back. He tied the perfect bow and lifted up his craft project, admiring his work and giving a sharp exhale through his nose as his lips turned up at the left side of his mouth to give the slightest smile. He put the bag down and looked at his watch, an hour left until he was to be picked up. He then headed for the bathroom to take a shower, he definitely wasn't going out with people again without showering today after last Sunday's mishap. 

* * *

Daryl got out of the shower thirty minutes later, rubbing his hair dry as best as he could with his towel and pulling over his stripy t-shirt, his damp hair leaving drips on his shoulders. He went into the kitchen to grab his money sack and slung it on his left shoulder, letting it balance itself whilst he pulled on his black boots at the front door. He then sat on the couch and pulled his phone from charger, then unplugging the charger from the socket and turning off the switch. 

Since confirming he was coming on the group Halloween outing, Daryl had been added to a group text with all the other guests. He thought he had spoken in it maybe only a couple times, mostly when he was directly asked a question or was mentioned, other than that he watched the back and forth texts whizz through his phone from the 7 other members. He felt a little awkward, often left with not much of a clue what to say, he did want to join into some of the conversations sometimes but always ended up leaving it too late or backing out last second.

Everyone seemed to be very secretive when it came to their costumes, occasionally giving hints or teasing everyone that theirs was the best, only to be snapped back at with competition. There were also casual conversations about any random subject, these were the ones that often either confused or entertained Daryl. It was quite funny to see Tara and Jesus argue over difference of opinions on TV show characters and tease each other at any given opportunity. Sometimes Glenn or Rosita would jump in and defend one of the opinions and there would be a full on debate over which kind of Oreo was best or which was superior, Marvel or DC (Daryl silently agreed with Tara and Glenn on Marvel, Jesus being the only one to pipe up for the side of DC, although standing his ground and giving a compelling argument).

The most absurd debate being wether or not the chupacabra was real. Daryl had quite strong feelings about this one which Glenn mentioned in the debate, but he chose to ghost the chat at that time in attempts to avoid embarrassing himself by telling his unbelievable-to-most story about his supposed chupacabra sighting a couple years back. The same one that he had told Glenn and Rick, still sticking by his gut despite Rick laughing his ass off at the story, Glenn was giggling but he had told Daryl that there's proof as to how it wasn't real so there was no reason for him not to believe it.

Daryl watched the clock hand tick towards 8pm, the closer it came to the hour, the more he felt the the swelling feeling in his stomach. He really hoped he wouldn't regret going tonight, hopefully Glenn would be there by his side to make him feel more at ease. Glenn often had that effect on people, especially Daryl. He always felt safe whenever he was with Glenn, more confident and less afraid to be himself, Glenn brought out the best in him and every other person that was lucky enough to be in his presence, he was just that kind of person. 

Glenn had mentioned in the group text that he and Maggie maybe wouldn't be able to attend the haunted house walk but everyone was free to join them at their house later to carve some pumpkins, to which everyone was delighted to hear. Daryl had considered skipping the haunted house and just meeting everyone at Glenn and Maggie's but he decided to step out of his comfort zone for once and risk going to the house despite knowing that there was a chance Glenn wouldn't be there.

The swelling feeling in his stomach began to drift into butterflies as he heard a knock at his door. He jumped up from his seat, checking his pocket to make sure his phone was there and grabbing his keys from the coffee table before swinging open the door. He was greeted by a rather fancy looking [pirate](https://goo.gl/images/70wDLc), eyepatch covering his right eye and a large brown hat balanced on his head. He was wearing a long black coat with brown round the edges and boots that looked far too big for his feet. He also had a large belt around his waist, over his white shirt and carried a sword which he then proceeded to point towards Daryl. 

"Arrrr you ready?" The captain said in a rather terrible faux accent, exaggerating sound of the "r's" to make an attempt at a pirate joke.

Daryl stared at Jesus for a second, his eyes narrowed before he scoffed and walked out the door, turning around to lock the door.

"Not a fan of puns? I like your costume, simple, you suit stripes. We're in the back of the car" Daryl could hear the smirk in his voice as he continues to fumble with his keys in the door whilst he heard Jesus' footsteps head towards the car.

He eventually locked his door and walked towards the back of the red convertible, currently with the roof in-tact as the months grew colder. He hopped into the car and clipped his seatbelt on before he was immediately greeted by Tara and Rosita.

"Hey you're a robber! I love it" Tara smiles widely at Daryl as she turned round to face him from the passenger seat. 

Her costume was very Tara, from what Daryl believed she was dressed as Marty Mcfly from the Back to the Future movies. She suited [the costume](https://goo.gl/images/w6r1pT) really well and she had it down to a T, you could tell she paid attention to all the details to make sure it was 100% accurate. She was equipped with the watch strapped to her wrist and iconic red puffy waistcoat and Daryl felt a trace of satisfaction that she had went to the amount of effort she did, him being a fan of the franchise himself. 

Rosita gave Daryl a small wave in the rear view mirror, smiling as she said a hello. She was dressed as a [wolf](https://goo.gl/images/wKushD), she wore a black suit jacket and had big fluffy ears attached to the wide rim of a black, flat top hat. She also had a black nose painted onto her face with a pair of whiskers [attached](https://goo.gl/images/97yK6V) and Daryl could also see a tail trailing off the drivers seat which he presumed belonged to her.

"Glenn and Maggie can't make it to the haunted house so we're just gonna meet them at their afterwards" Jesus smiled gently at Daryl, almost like he knew how he felt and was trying to reassure him. 

Daryl nodded in return, then looking down at his lap and fidgeting with his homemade money bag, rubbing and tapping it with his fingertips. 

"Let's put on some music" Tara suggested as she took her phone from her pocket and connected it to an AUX cable in the car. She swiped through her phone before pressing play on a song and placing it in the cup holder between the driver and passenger seat. Her and Jesus started bobbing their heads up and down in time of the beat and Rosita tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Daryl didn't recognise the song but it actually sounded like something that he would listen to. 

As the guitar got heavier in the song suddenly Tara and Jesus burst into the song, shouting the lyrics out and rocking their heads up and down, Jesus struggling to keep his hat on. Rosita laughed as she tried to still stay concentrated on the road. Daryl couldn't help but stifle a small smile as he watched the pair sing their hearts out to the [catchy tune](https://youtu.be/sEXHeTcxQy4), smiles wide. 

As the song finished Tara gave a whoop and Jesus started applauding whilst Rosita smiled fondly at Tara sitting next to her before a new song started playing. The two friends continued singing every song that came on, Daryl recognised a few of them, occasionally tapping his feet to the drum beat and ever so slightly nodding his head. If he were by himself he probably would've been singing too but he wasn't quite sure he was ready to sing, especially since Jesus and Tara seemed to make quite a talented duo even when they weren't singing seriously. 

The car ride ended quicker than Daryl had expected it to and soon enough they had arrived at the Haunted House walk through. Rosita had parked the car in the parking lot and they walked towards the entrance of the fair. Daryl thought it would just be a random house and nothing else but much to his distaste there was a wide crowd of people wandering around the field which was littered with carnival games and food stalls, loud music blaring through the grassland. At least he didn't look out of place, almost everyone there was dressed up, he probably would've looked more out of place if he wasn't dressed up. 

"Sash and Eugene said they'd meet us at the house" Rosita called out over the music, before gesturing for everyone to follow her as she made her way through the scattered strangers towards the Haunted House.

They arrived at the house to see that Sasha and Eugene had already gotten there, Sasha waved them over with a huge grin on her face before taking Rosita and Tara into a hug.

"Pleasure to see you again Daryl" Eugene extended his hand to Daryl, same blunt expression on his face as he had at Glenns party.

Daryl shook his hand, giving a small smile and nod before Rosita dragged Eugene away and Sasha came in to embrace Daryl in a hug which he awkwardly obliged to. She was wearing a cropped [baseball outfit](https://goo.gl/images/iXmwxa), looking effortlessly gorgeous as she always did. She wore a red baseball cap and was holding a baseball bat in one hand, she also had red lipstick to match the colours of the jersey. 

He looked over at Eugene to figure out what he was dressed as only to notice he had a plain white t-shirt on with handwritten words on the front which read ["Error 404: costume not found"](https://goo.gl/images/23BqlD) , a reference of which Daryl only vaguely understood as something to do with computers, everyone else seemed to be laughing at it anyway.

"Let's get this thing started then!" Beamed Jesus as he lead the group towards the queue for the haunted house.

Daryl read the caution signs which informed him that people would jump out at him during the walk through and that the experience was _"not for the light hearted"_ , he was thankful that he didn't scare easy, otherwise he would've been in quite the predicament.

As they got closer to the entrance of the house he could hear the screams of the already inside guests and his stomach produced more butterflies. It wasn't that he was scared, it was more of a mix of anxious excitement. He felt like a kid again as he'd never gotten to do these kind of things with friends when he was younger and he felt like he was finally fulfilling one of his childhood wishes. 

Eventually they got to the entrance and Daryl ended up being forced to the front of the group of friends like in the horror movies when one person was singled out to go first into the creepy room to check out the noise being made. Followed behind him was Jesus then Tara, Rosita, Sasha and then Eugene at the end. Daryl made his way through the narrow, dark hall in the walkthrough only lit with some atmospheric red and green lights which were then dimmed out by the smoke machines pouring out clouds to set the scene. 

He prepared himself for the inevitable jump scares he was expecting to find at every corner he turned as he led the group through the building. Strangers dressed as zombies and vampires and masked murderers jumped out from the dark corners and nooks screaming in the faces of passer-bys in attempts to give them a good fright. Daryl occasionally heard an odd scream or two coming from the group behind them, the occasional swear or two leaving Tara's mouth. 

As they were walking through, Daryl was caught off guard when Jesus grabbed his arm briefly before letting go after Tara had screamed in his ear and gripped his shoulder, causing a reaction from the pirate. Daryl felt his face heat up and he thought it must've just been the adrenaline from being scared as he brushed off the thought and continued to lead the group throughout the walkthrough. 

He turned a corner and flinched when a faceless, white masked stranger screamed in his face and revved a chainsaw. He had gotten such a rush that he hadn't noticed the man behind him's hand grasped onto his own. His heart rate increased even more than it already had and he felt a drastic warmth radiate on his cheeks. His hand in Jesus' tingled and the hair on his arms stood on end as he felt the Pirates fingers tangled in his own. His hand began to sweat and he swallowed hard as the group continued walking through the house, Daryl trying and failing at ignoring the younger mans hand which he was now dragging along to towards the exit. Slowly their hands began to loose grip on one another as they exited the house into the scattered crowd at the fair lit up by floodlights.

He turned round to face the rest of the motley crew to see them laughing and sighing with relief that the experience was over. He caught eyes with Jesus before quickly looking down at his feet, rubbing his hands together and trying to hide the ever growing blush on his face. He was still a little flustered from Jesus holding on to his hand, he hadn't felt something like that before. Then again, he didn't think he'd ever held hands with someone, the feeling was nice, Jesus' hands fit right into his own snuggly and their fingers intertwined comfortable as if they'd done it many of times before. Daryl tried to suppress his thoughts again, it was just the adrenaline, he wasn't sure why else Jesus' holding his hand would make him feel that way. His thoughts were interrupted by Sasha who announced she was hungry. 

"I second that let's go get food" Agreed Tara as they group headed out towards the food trucks at the fair.

They reached a food truck with one of the smaller queues and gazed at the menu, discussing to each other what they wanted to buy.

"To be honest I just want some cotton candy" Jesus exclaimed as he looked up at the vast menu in front of the truck. 

"I'll pay" Daryl suddenly piped up, looking towards the pirate.

He felt it was his duty now as Jesus had bought his dinner the other week, it was only right to give him something in return.

"No, of course not I'll pay for my own" Jesus furrowed his brows and smiled at Daryl.

"Nah, paid for my lunch the other week, need ta pay ya back" Daryl returned, gravelly voice. 

"You don't have to pay me back for that but, if you insist Mr Dixon" Jesus smirked. 

Daryl blushed at the nickname. Heading Jesus say his name like that made him feel... He didn't know. He proceeded towards the counter of the food truck and made his order of one cotton candy and one ice cream cone. He turned to see Jesus watching as the worker twirled the wooden stick in the cotton candy machine, making a pink cloud appear attached to the stick. Daryl was handed his ice cream cone, completed with crushed Oreos on top of the swirl. Daryl handed over his money and took the candy floss from the worker then walking back to Jesus and handing it to him. Jesus' eyes and grin grew wide as Daryl handed him the sweet cloud on a stick which was bigger than his head. 

"Thank you, this is huge" 

"Yeah" Daryl mumbled before licking off some of the crushed Oreos from his ice cream. 

They then waited for Eugene and Tara to come back with their chilli dog each, Rosita and Sasha already set with their popcorn and pretzel. Eugene and Tara returned and the group walked around the fair, people-watching as they finished their food. Once they finished Tara immediately dragged them to all the fairground game stalls. Sasha headed straight towards the strong man game, handing the worker her money before grabbing the hammer, everyone cheering her on as she lifted it before slamming it down and watching it just hit the bell on her first try. Her jaw dropped and eyes lit up and she squealed and jumped up and down along with Tara and Rosita in triumph before picking out a plush tiger toy from the stand of prizes, hugging it to her chest. Suddenly Rosita gasped as she walked towards another stall and looked in awe at one of the prizes on the stall. 

"I had a teddy just like that when I was little" she gushed as she pouted and pointed to a large, grey teddy bear with a pink love-heart shaped nose.

"We have to win it then" Tara said giving the cashier some money and picking up the fake gun on the stall.

It was a shooting game. You had to hit all three bullseye's on the three targets with the three suction cup bullets in the gun to win a large prize. Tara steadied her aim and shot the gun, hitting one bullseye only just. She swallowed and then moved onto the other target, pulling the trigger and hitting the target away from the bullseye. She uttered a swear as she gave the cashier more money for another try. She tried again and failed at the last target, Jesus then taking her place to try win Rosita's prize. He failed also and then passed the gun to Eugene who somehow didn't even manage to hit the target and his bullet went flying behind to the back of the stall, hitting on of the soft toys on the shelves. Rosita was telling them that it was okay and that they should just try another game when Daryl took things into his own hands.

"Lemme try" he said, stepping forwards and placing some dollars on the counter, taking the gun. 

He steadied the gun in his hands, using his old shooting skills to help him with the aim of the bullet. He shot the gun and hit bullseye on the first target. The group were in silence as they watched Daryl take his turn, waiting for the outcome. He hit the second target bullseye no problem and repeated the action with the third target effortlessly. The group then cheered as the cashier gave Daryl the heart nose teddy which he then handed to a delighted Rosita. 

"You're impressing my date more than I am" Tara whispered as she elbowed Daryl's side, tutting with a smirk on her face as she looked up to the former archer.

Daryl huffed a small laugh at the comment before Rosita took him into a hug and thanked him. 

* * *

"Where'd you learn to shoot that good? Or was it just luck?" Jesus asked Daryl as they sat in the car on their way to Glenn and Maggie's, Rosita's teddy sitting in between them. 

"Uh... Used to hunt, don't do it no more though" he grumbled in reply, a little embarrassed to speak about his past considering now he was almost totally against hunting of any sorts.

"Huh, how'd you get into that?" Jesus enquired.

"Well... Kinda just started it because my brother did it."

"Why'd you stop?" 

"Don't like it... I... Take photos now instead" Daryl felt a flush on his cheeks as he told Jesus his hobby which he wasn't even sure why he felt he needed to blurt out. 

"Oh wow really? I took photography in college, ended up dropping it because I realised that just because I'm an arty person doesn't mean I can take good photos. The teachers made that clear."

Jesus chuckled as he looked down at his hands resting on his lap. Daryl watched as Jesus looked down at his lap, a sudden annoyance began itching at him. He could tell Jesus was disappointed just by the way he told Daryl he dropped out of the course, it made Daryl pissed that _"the teachers let him know about that"_ too. He believed photography was for anyone, all you need to do is take a damn photo of anything and viola you're a photographer. Hell, if Daryl hadn't dropped out of school and instead taken a course on photography he sure as hell thought that the teachers probably wouldn't be impressed by his mediocre skills if they weren't impressed by someone who had an obvious eye for art. 

He frowned to himself as he looked out the window of the car, passing by all the houses with decorations out front and kids in costumes walking down the streets with their buckets full of candy. He listened to Tara and Rosita in the front talking about some new clothes store that had opened up in the town with soft music playing from the radio in the background. Sasha and Eugene had went home instead of heading to Glenn and Maggie's as they both had work the next morning so the group had lost two and gained another two members once they arrived at the house.

Glenn and Maggie welcomed everyone I to their homes with open arms as usual, taking in everyone for warm hugs and complimenting everyone's costumes. Maggie had dressed up as a deer, a painted on nose and white spots surrounding her face, a headband round her head with two large sticks in place [for antlers](https://goo.gl/images/PuuwRF). Whereas Glenn had gone for his usual nerdy option and chosen to dress up as Star Wars' [Han Solo](https://goo.gl/images/uuble4), then explaining that Maggie had refused to be Princess Leia with him as she had been forced into dorky couples costumes by Glenn for the past couple years now.

The couple then invited everyone into the lounge where they had set out a plastic sheet across the floor where the coffee table had been which was now placed at the edge of the back wall of the room. On the coffee table were a bunch of pumpkins and carving utensils to which Glenn told everyone to take a pumpkin and start carving. Tara ran up first, claiming the largest pumpkin as her own and grabbing a knife and pen and slumping herself into the floor immediately beginning to draw out her design. Daryl waited his turn and took the first pumpkin his hand reached out to, not extremely bothered about the shape or size, he then also grabbed a knife and pen and sat down on the floor next to Tara and Maggie. Glenn had placed a large bowl in the middle of the floor to put all the pumpkin entrails into once they had scooped out all the goop before beginning to carve.

The group began carving their pumpkin designs as the TV in the background played _'Alien'_ , one of Glenn's favourite scary movies as Daryl remembered him telling him sometime in the past. Daryl tapped his pen on his lip, trying to think of some sort of design he could draw onto the pumpkin to later carve. He remembered one design his mom had made one year when he was a kid, he really liked it, it had resembled the face of Jack Skellington from _'The Nightmare Before Christmas'_ , one of Daryl's favourite movies when he was a kid. He was a fan of the art style, the dark and twisted sort of stories that Tim Burton often came up with, there was a speck beauty in them that made them stand out to Daryl. He decided he would try recreate the design and so got to work drawing it out on the face of the pumpkin.

Around an hour and thirty minutes later and a couple of jumps and screams produced by the movie in the background, everyone had finished their pumpkins. [Daryl's](https://goo.gl/images/5hYn6b) had turned out to be quite a success and he was proud of it if he did say so himself. He looked around at everyone else's designs, [Tara's](https://goo.gl/images/1yQPO2) was quite cute, buck teeth and googly eyes that made a rather goofy face. Rosita had a similar go-to design, another goofy face with large eyes and a [big smile](https://goo.gl/images/7Z5LaH). Daryl really liked [Maggie's](https://goo.gl/images/7c7vY3), it's smile was wavy and it's eyes went round in spirals as if it was a cartoon character getting hypnotised, she seemed to have spent a lot of time trying to carve the spiral eyes and doing a swell job. Glenn had done a rather [obscure design](https://goo.gl/images/9tjBoh), everyone seemed to be a little confused by it and he was rather baffled that nobody but Jesus had recognised what it was. 

"It's from Portal it's a video game" he explained waving his hands out in defence. 

"Of course it's a video game" Maggie rolled her eyes in return, smirking at her husband which for a few snickers from the group.

Tara had groaned when she saw Jesus' pumpkin, complaining that of course he would have to put-do her with his art skills. Daryl had actually watched Jesus whilst he was paying hard attention to carving his rather intricate detailed design. Jesus stick out his tongue a little to the right corner of his mouth and had his browns furrowed as he concentrated on the drawn out design on the pumpkin face, making sure that it was perfectly carved. His [pumpkins](https://goo.gl/images/TxFUMO) face was jagged and angry looking, it almost looked like the darker, scarier cousin of Daryl's pumpkin and he admired the skill that went into creating it. 

Another horror movie later and a large bowl of trick or treater candy emptied by the friends, they decided it was time to head home. Rosita yet again took Tara, Jesus and Daryl in her car to give them a lift to their places, she dropped off Tara first before heading towards Daryl's. Daryl looked out the car window again on the way to his house, a small, satisfied smile on his face. It was probably safe to say it was one of the best Halloweens he'd had in years. He was really glad that he hadn't dropped out of the whole thing which was originally planning to do. 

"Goodnight Daryl" Jesus had sleepily smiled at Daryl as he left the car, thanking Rosita for the ride. 

Daryl gave a small wave and half smile in return before heading towards his front door. He unlocked the door and padded into the house, kicking his boots off at the door and flinging his beanie onto the kitchen counter. He mad a b-line straight for his bedroom, he didn't feel like watching crappy TV tonight as he was far too tired. 

He changed into his loose grey sweatpants and baggy black t-shirt before turning off the bedroom light and sliding under the covers of his bed, hugging the duvet close to his chest. He replayed the day in his head and he suddenly felt a rush of heat headed towards his cheeks and a fluttering of butterflies in his stomach as he remembered Jesus grasping his hand in the haunted house. He swallowed hard and brought the duvet closer to his face, hugging it tight as he slowly drifted off into sleep at the thought of Jesus' soft touch, having a rather strange dream about a pirate and a robber.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this Halloween chapter uploaded on Christmas! It's currently 1am where I am so Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to whoever celebrates and happy holidays to all I hope you all have a good time! 
> 
> Thanks for reading as always and the lovely comments and kudos, come chat to me on tumblr - yikespinkman


	11. Chapter 11

The following weeks after Halloween Daryl and Jesus had met up for lunch a couple times if they were both working, one paying for the other or sometimes halving the price. Occasionally Daryl would stay late at the shop and Jesus would drop in by and have a chat or sometimes bring him some food if he was planning on staying over dinner time. Daryl appreciated the kind gesture and was very shy whenever the younger man came in with take out food or something as simple as a bag of chips or candy. Daryl wasn't sure when they exactly became friends, but he preferred having lunch with some company rather than eating in isolation or possibly worse, with Dwight. Jesus had initiated the plans, texting Daryl and getting him to look out his shop window just so he could wave to him, Daryl rolling his eyes and complaining that he had to move all the way from the back of the shop just for him to see Jesus' goofy smile and flailing arm across from him in the art store. Daryl was reluctant at first to accepting the offer of Jesus' lunch break plans but eventually gave in after he felt bad for rejecting him for the fourth time in the week. Daryl had now joined Jesus on the regulars list at _'The Alexandria'_ and Amy was his go-to server, chirpy and always pleased to see him. They were having lunch together the other day when Daryl was taken off guard by something Jesus had said.

"You know she likes you" Jesus smirked at the redneck.

"Huh?" Daryl fumbled with his fork in his almost eaten bowl of tomato pasta, unsure of what Jesus was implying.

"You know what I mean Daryl" the younger man wiggled his eyebrows behind his round rimmed glasses and made a kissy noise with his lips pursed.

Daryl grimaced and narrowed his eyes at Jesus, shoving a large mouthful of pasta in his mouth before pulling his baseball cap further over his face. He thought he would die of embarrassment if Amy were to ask him out or tell him she liked him. He liked her, just not in that way at all and never would - in that way - at all. She just didn't appeal to him whatsoever despite being a generally nice person to be around. He didn't know why, he just wasn't interested.

"I can get her number for you?" Jesus leered at the disgruntled man in front of him, attempting to tease him and make him go more red than he already was.

"Nah" Daryl mumbled in reply, avoiding Jesus' gaze.

Jesus huffed a laugh before taking a sip from his chocolate shake, something he had become accustomed to order after Daryl had inspired him the first time they went to the restaurant together. Daryl shuffled his feet on the floor as he scraped his bowl to rid any spare pasta sauce. Jesus raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to the right before looking up at Daryl, a smug look on his face, of which Daryl was unsure how to decipher.

They'd never really had much conversations about things like relationships to which Daryl was grateful. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Jesus that he'd never had someone before, been loved or cared for, he was embarrassed by it. Even so, he didn't really mind. Intimacy made him quite uncomfortable unless it was with the right people and he'd never been the loveable type. The idea of commitment also frightened him, not the idea of him being committed to someone, that he knew for sure he could be, but the idea of someone staying committed to him. He feared losing people and the thought that he could devote his life to a person who couldn't give two fucks about about him really unnerved him. If he were to find someone, he'd have to make sure that he knew they were in it for the long haul.

Jesus had mentioned a few of his past relationships, he admitted to only having two more serious ones, the other two being middle school sweethearts. Something about that endeared Daryl. He'd had the misconception that Jesus would've been one of the popular kids at school or had had many a fling with a few partners but he was wrong about many things the man had told him and in a way he was glad. Jesus had told him that he'd had two close friends in middle school and then another was added when he went to high school. One of the friends he had feelings for, which eventually were expressed to the boy only for it to turn on him and for said friend to drop him and make up rumours.

The friend had told a select few people that he thought Jesus was gay and that he'd been sleeping with random guys, only for them to then pass it on to more and more people which got to the point of him having to change schools to get away from the gossip and derogatory terms thrown around at him. This had then caused his parents to find out about his sexuality, he was almost forced into telling them when he wasn't ready as he had to tell them the reason he wanted to change schools. He was just glad that they were accepting and loved him nonetheless, as there were plenty parents that wouldn't have taken it as well as they had. That being said, he had to tell them about his sexuality before he was ready, which nobody should have to do.

It was when he moved to the new school that he had met Maggie and Tara - Tara then introducing him to Rosita. It was a nice school and he took classes that he enjoyed, leading him to realise he wanted to pursue in a career linking to arts of some sort. He also had come to terms with himself and felt in a safe enough environment to come out to people, he felt it was the right time and he mentioned it being one of the best decisions he'd ever made. Of course there were a few odd unsupportive people, but they were usually the school assholes anyway so didn't bother him that much as everyone else seemed supportive.

In his last year of high school he'd had his first serious relationship with a guy called Kal. Jesus said he was nice, his parents liked him at least and they shared some interests, they were together for almost a year before Kal moved states to go to university and they called it quits as neither of them were ready for a long distance relationship. The next serious relationship had been Alex, two and a half years they'd been together, Jesus thought they'd be together til the end until things got rocky between them and Alex started seeing someone new whilst he was still with Jesus; the _"sexy fireman calendar"_ guy that he had mentioned to Daryl the night of Glenn's party.

"I should've known, Mom didn't like him, Maggie told me I was too good for him. I just... Didn't believe them you know? Always just tried to see the best in people and ignore their flaws. Not always the best idea."

Something in his tone of voice made Daryl think he was still downtrodden by the whole situation, even though it had been quite a few months since they ended it now but then Daryl hadn't been in a relationship before, let alone one for almost three years. He hated to think how shitty it must've been for him - especially the situation that caused them to end it. It must've been bad enough ending a long term relationship and even worse knowing that it's because your significant other was cheating. It made Daryl's blood boil and made him think back to how heartbroken Rick had been about Lori, something he couldn't bear to see again.

He hated to admit it, but he grown a soft spot for Jesus. He turned out not to be the type of person Daryl had previously conceived him as. They seemed to be like chalk and cheese but they got along so well and Daryl could see them becoming even closer friends in the near future. Maybe not as close as Rick or Glenn but given the time, not far off.

Jesus had also found out about his love for Marvel, something he was not expecting to find out about. Daryl had forgotten that he used Jesus' Netflix account along with himself and Tara and often forgot that they could see everything he had watched. On one of his days off he had decided to watch almost every single Marvel movie that was available and therefore exposed his secret. He honestly wasn't sure why he was so embarrassed by the whole ordeal as Marvel was good, it wasn't often labelled as a guilty pleasure. He guessed he only felt embarrassed because it didn't seem to fit his persona or that he knew Merle would've given him shit for watching a science fiction film rather than something with women being objectified on screen for the entertainment of a generally straight male audience.

Jesus had texted him the day after, asking if he enjoyed his rather extreme movie marathon, then proceeding to tell him he should watch DC instead. Daryl replying with a blunt _"no thanks"_ in return, just to spite the younger man. They'd then had a one on one debate on which brand was better - almost mirroring the one Jesus had had with Glenn and Tara on the group text a couple weeks back, Daryl's most compelling argument being

_"Yeah, but Marvel has Deadpool and DC got Green Lantern"_

To which Jesus reluctantly agreed - to an extent, that that was a pretty good point.

Tara had then taken notice of Daryl's interest and then invited him and Jesus over to hers for a movie day, only for them to arrive to see Glenn joining them and to see that all the movies in the watchlist were Marvel. It was a pretty devious plan and Daryl thought it was pretty funny she had planned the whole thing just to be petty that more of the friend group preferred Marvel to DC and to rub it in Jesus' face. He took the whole situation on the chin nevertheless, still being defiant and never admitting to his defeat despite the competition; very admirable of him. After that Jesus had been convinced to watch the X-Men movies (Daryl's favourites) by Glenn and himself, eventually admitting to enjoying the franchise - it was a little more _"for adults"_ and was darker than the almost family friendly likes of _The Avengers_. In return, Daryl had agreed to watch some DC movies, beginning with the Batman movies; _The Dark Knight_ was his favourite (he thought the Joker was a great villain) and then _"accidentally"_ skipping _Green Lantern_ \- Jesus forgave him for that.

Despite Daryl learning a lot about Jesus, Jesus hadn't learned that much about Daryl. He seemed to have done all the talking and let Daryl listen, which he seemed to prefer as he was a renown quiet person. Not that Jesus minded, it was nice to have someone to vent to that he knew would actually listen, even if what he was ranting about wasn't of any particular interest to the older man. That was something Jesus admired about Daryl. He was selfless and cared what his friends had to say, he would never put them down and was always there to listen to whatever they had to talk about regardless the topic of conversation.

Jesus had also developed a soft spot for the man sitting in front of him, blush as bright as his tomato pasta as he twiddled his fork in his hand. Jesus definitely had a crush on the man, that was for sure. He'd told Tara this a while ago but told her not to make anything of it because it would never be anything more than that - a hopeless crush. Jesus was almost certain that Daryl would never be interested in him, he wasn't particularly sure of his sexual orientation but he didn't want to pressure him into telling him if he didn't want to or wasn't ready. Lord knows the man might not even know himself. Jesus was just comfortable in the fact that they had become friends and that was what he was grateful for if anything. He made a good friend, someone Jesus could trust and that was something he didn't take for granted, he hoped Daryl had realised that.

* * *

 

Daryl let out a groaning sound as he stretched his arms high above his head and leaned back on the chair in attempts to crack his back, succeeding, before slapping his hands down on the front desk of the shop. He gave a deep exhale and took a pen from the pot lying next to the computer monitor, tapping it absent mindedley on the mouse pad. He had half an hour to go before he could leave, he was on a later shift and was the only one left in the shop. He'd let Dwight go home early for once as he was in a better mood than usual and the guy hadn't been an asshole once that week - something hard for him to do.

He grabbed the computer mouse and clicked on the Google Chrome icon, then searching for _"free games online"_ in the search bar and pressing enter for thousands of results to appear. He clicked on one of the first websites and scrolled down before he saw something appealing or that he recognised. He immediately clicked on _"Tetris"_ as it appeared on the screen, going for a classic arcade game to pass the time before he left. He didn't expect anymore customers at 7:30pm so he didn't feel antsy about getting into trouble for playing video games. He started playing the game, mumbling to himself saying almost inaudible _"booyahs"_ when he got a good score or a sigh and some cusses when he didn't. He accidentally pressed the wrong key and placed the shape in the undesired spot and slammed his fist against the table in frustration and pushing himself back from the desk in the spinny chair.

"Fuck you" he grumbled as he gave the middle finger to the computer screen, then being surprised when there was a giggle in return.

"Working hard huh?" He heard the familiar voice say as he looked up to see Jesus leaning on the front desk watching him play the game, unsure of how long he'd actually been unaware of his presence.

"You're creepy ya know that?" Daryl replied in a rather disgruntled tone.

Jesus smiled smugly back at him and wiggled his eyebrows generating a huff from the redneck.

"Why you here?"

"Just to do my grocery shopping, you know, the usual" Daryl rolled his eyes at the bearded mans sarcastic comment as he watching him slowly wander the shop looking up and down.

"You know where the vegetables are?"

"Down your throat in a second" Daryl grumbled as he glared at Jesus.

"Woah, I'm gonna have to put you in for a bad review on Yelp for that one" the hipster replied as he continued looking at the wall littered of pictures of motorcycles, not even looking back at Daryl.

Daryl tutted and went back to sit on his chair at the desk to continue his game of Tetris as Jesus wasn't giving him much else to work with.

"In all seriousness - you know how I was talking about getting a bike, was wondering if you could help me out?" Jesus then turned to Daryl, concerned expression plastered to his face.

Daryl turned back round in his chair to face the other man after hearing his request, then lifting himself off the seat and walking over to where he was standing looking at the pictures on the wall. He scanned the length of the wall looking for some bikes he could recommend.

"Moto Guzzi V7 Stone is okay for first timers, got the kinda retro style, lightweight materials, holds 5.8 gallons o' fuel" Daryl said pointing to one of the pictures on the wall.

"Triumph Bonneville" he said pointing to another, "also kinda vintage, got all the basics so fit for beginners. Not the best for long trips on highways but, still okay"

"What are the prices like? I'm not planning on buying one quite yet, I'll have to do some more saving first" Jesus screwed his face up as he looked at the two bikes in the pictures Daryl had pointed out.

"Uh... Bonneville can go for around $4000, Moto Guzzi usually a little more, just depends where you get it from s'pose" Daryl rubbed his eyes with his hand as he informed his friend.

"Ah. I'll definitely have to save for a lot longer then" Jesus said, his teeth bearing in an uncomfortable smile.

"If I hear of someone selling for cheaper I'll hit you up"

"Yeah you can... Hit me up" Jesus almost whispered as he didn't take his gaze from the wall of photos.

Daryl screwed up his face and looked down at the man before returning to his computer and then lifting his wrist in front of him to check his watch for the time. Daryl shut off his computer and went to the back of the shop to get his backpack, helmet and keys, then returning to see Jesus still wandering the shop.

"S'closing time" The biker mumbled as he walked past Jesus, nudging him in the arm as he headed towards the door of the shop.

Daryl held the door open as Jesus followed him out the shop and into an ongoing rainstorm. He heard Jesus sigh as he took off his glasses and slipped them into his shirt pocket - he was not appropriately dressed for the weather. Daryl started putting his helmet on his head and Jesus started saying thank you and goodbye before walking down the street before Daryl realised the man was walking home in the torrential downpour. Daryl unlocked the door of the shop and ran inside, grabbing a helmet before running back out again and locking the door and then shouting for Jesus.

"Hey, I'll give you a ride?" He shouted after the man in the distance who's long hair was started to become darker in colour due to the rainfall.

"Thanks but it's not a long walk, I'll be fine" Jesus smiled back at him.

"Nah, s'fine I'll take ya" Daryl then held up the spare helmet in his hand and gestured for Jesus to come back.

Jesus then lightly jogged back to Daryl and took the helmet gratefully from him, thanking him for the offer. Daryl then hopped on the bike and flipped down his visor and waited for Jesus to join him. When he did, Daryl began to stiffen up. He hadn't thought this entirely through. He wasn't even sure why he offered the man a ride, any other time he would've left it and plus Jesus' apartment was literally around a 10 minute walk away. He swallowed hard and his body became extremely tense as he suddenly felt Jesus' arms wrap round his waist, he almost winced at the warm touch as he turned the key in the motorbike to start it up, his heart racing.

He hadn't given anyone a ride in a long time, maybe even two years or so - the last person being Glenn who had stayed over at Daryl's house one night and woke up late for a doctors appointment, a motorbike being the quickest mode of transport. Glenn had also said that was the last time he was ever riding a motorbike; it made him feel queasy.

Daryl swallowed in his dry mouth as he began to drive down the street in the rain, headed towards his passengers apartment. The longer he was on the bike, the more aware he became of every part of him that was pressed up against Jesus' body. He'd never been that close to the man before - he wasn't gripping onto him as tight as Glenn had, but he still had a pretty firm hold on Daryl's waist.

Daryl then thought back to Halloween when they'd held hands, the same warm feeling sparking up in his body which suddenly made him feel more relaxed and content at the mans touch. Before long they had reached Jesus' apartment and he hopped off the bike, taking the helmet from his head to reveal his now messy hair.

"Thank you Daryl" he shyly smiled.

"No problem" Daryl managed to give a half smile through his visor in return, and the usual red on his cheeks which followed.

"You should come inside for a bit, wait till the rain stops" Jesus stated, kind eyes staring right into Daryl's through the visor which he lifted up as the man talked to him.

Daryl hesitated before looking up at the sky, still pouring with rain. Then quickly nodding his head and getting off his bike and taking off his helmet and following Jesus inside the apartment complex.

As soon as they walked in Daryl could feel the warmth of the building hit him, radiating through him from his feet to his cheeks. Jesus led him up a flight of stairs before taking some keys from his pocket, Daryl noticed they had a vast collection of random keyrings attached to them, something he'd never noticed before. Daryl was then let into Jesus' apartment which was in almost darkness before Jesus turned on the lights to reveal the space. It was pretty nice Daryl had to say - it looked quite modern compared to the decor in his house and it smelled sweet - he noticed an abundance of candles around the place most of which seemed to be pumpkin spice scented. He could also smell a hint of lavender as he approached the living area, unsure of what to do or where to place his wet bike helmet. He followed Jesus' actions by placing it on the breakfast bar next to a small pile of books.

"Take a seat, you want tea, coffee?" Jesus said, taking his glasses out his pocket and placing them back on his head.

"Uh, coffee's fine" Daryl mumbled, gazing over the room and taking in his surroundings like a cat introduced to a new home.

"Great. I have a coffee machine so, you want anything special or just plain old boring coffee?" Jesus smirked waiting for the mans reply.

"Just boring coffee's good thanks" He said in return as he slowly lowered himself onto the couch.

Jesus then turned on his feet and flicked a switch on the coffee machine and grabbed two mugs from the mug tree on his counter, one being the _"Hebrews it"_ pun mug and another one printed with a picture of a Jesus statue pointing his fingers, a picture that Daryl had seen float around online a couple years back. Daryl tapped his feet on the ground nervously waiting for Jesus to return. He wasn't sure why he was so anxious, he hadn't been in the mans house before and outside of having lunch together they'd never spent time outside of work just with the two of them and no other friends joining them.

He swallowed his dry breath again as he thought about Jesus pressed against his back on his bike and his arms wrapped around his waist. He didn't know how he felt, he hadn't had these kind of feelings before and he didn't understand them and it frustrated him. It made him all flustered and stressed out when those little interactions and partly intimate moments were the only things he could think of at night before he fell asleep, always waking up feeling refreshed and ready in the morning - unusual for Daryl. Then Jesus came over and handed Daryl his coffee before sitting on the couch leaving around a metre between them as he kicked off his shoes and rest his feet on the couch.

"Sorry the place is kinda messy, didn't think anyone would be here"

"S'fine" Daryl muttered, taking a sip of his coffee from the pointing Jesus mug. "Y'only got religious mugs or somethin'?" Daryl then asked giving a judgmental look towards the younger man.

Jesus laughed as he lifted his mug up to his face to look at it, "no, these are the only two - both of which gifts... From Tara, naturally" He cocked one eyebrow up as he smiled fondly at the mug, reminding him of his best friend.

Jesus took a big gulp of his drink before exhaling deeply and clasping the mug in both his hands in attempts to warm them up. His fingers wrapped round the mug which seemed to almost be a little too big for him to carry and he stared blankly in front of him, the steam from the hot drink fogging up his glasses a little before he placed the mug down on a coaster on the coffee table and took off his glasses, wiping them of the condensation before gently placing them next to another pile of books on the table next to his mug. He then leaned down and grabbed a TV remote that was sat next to Daryl on the couch and turned on the TV. Daryl shifted a little as the man leaned towards him, trying to further himself from the possible contact that could be made before he took another mouthful of coffee.

"You ever seen Black Mirror?"

"Nah, s'on Netflix though right? Think I saw it there" Daryl replied still without giving eye contact to Jesus since entering his home.

"Yes! It's so good I'll put on an episode because they're all different stories so you don't have to watch them in order. Also bear in mind they're all major mind fuckers" Jesus exclaimed as he waved his arms around as he talked.

He then took a hair tie from his wrist and leaned back letting his hair flow on his shoulders before quickly tying it back into a messy bun on the top of his head. He then clicked on Netflix on his TV and flicked through the episodes of Black Mirror before clicking on one called ' _Playtest'_ and sitting back, returning the remote to the space between him and Daryl on the couch.

* * *

 

Two episode of _Black Mirror_ and quite a few of _Parks and Recreation_ later, Daryl and Jesus had moved onto alcoholic beverages, given it was a Friday night. Jesus was three beers down the line and had then taken two shots, he'd become wobbly on his feet as Daryl watched him stagger to his kitchen cupboard to grab a box of cereal, opening it and eating it straight from the box. Daryl had had two beers and hadn't had any in the past hour and a half and wasn't planning on having anymore as he wanted to be sober enough to drive home, so he took pleasure in watching his friend become tipsy and slowly progress into full on drunk.

Jesus placed the cereal box on the breakfast bar, then resting his elbows on the surface and holding his head in his hands as his eyes lay on Daryl, laying with his feet now resting on the couch, a glass of water in his hand. Jesus then suddenly gasped and his eyes widened as he rushed towards the hall gesturing frantically for Daryl to get up and follow him.

"What?" Daryl asked, a worried tone at the abrupt movement of the younger man.

Jesus opened the door to the room he was standing outside and walked in, revealing a small room with painted walls; black and orange and a pull out couch bed against one of the walls, opposite it was a small table of which on top was a fish bowl. Jesus stumbled gently over to the fish bowl and kneeled down next to it.

"I forgot to introduce you to Leo" he whispered quietly, staring at the colourful fish in the bowl before him in awe.

"Really?" Daryl grunted as he got worried over a damn fish - he'd thought Jesus had remembered something really important by the way he acted.

"I won him at a carnival, he's cool he's a Siamese fighting fish" The bearded man then continued quietly as he lightly tapped on the fish bowl with his lips pursed almost resembling the fish's expression.

"Yeah... Sure" replied Daryl, only to satisfy the drunk man.

"Wait til you see my other roommate, come now" Jesus grinned as he stood up and pulled Daryl on the arm gently through the hall to another closed door and swinging it open. Inside was painted completely white with an easel bearing a blank canvas resting on it, a set of drawers which were littered with paintbrushes, on the floor there was a paint palette and a box of acrylic paints. There was also a small desk on which Daryl could see a sketchpad and a cup full of pens and pencils. Daryl had guessed this was his friends _"art room"_. In the far corner of the room sat a high table with a glass enclosure sitting on top. Jesus immediately approached the container, sliding the glass panels and reaching inside, then appearing with a chameleon attached to his hand. His smile made his eyes crinkle as he gently walked closer towards Daryl who was still standing in the doorway.

"This is Neville" the younger man whispered again, as if the lizard was the most precious thing in the world.

Jesus then proceeded to let Neville crawl onto Daryl's folded arms.

"Wanna hold?" He said, not really giving Daryl much of a choice as he slid the chameleon off his hand and onto Daryl's.

Daryl reluctantly took the reptile and stared at it, unsure of what exactly he was meant to do with it: a chameleon wasn't exactly the type of pet you would give snuggles to, he was pretty cool though. Daryl had never seen a pet this exotic, he'd never known you could even keep a chameleon as a pet. He shifted his hands carefully as Neville trodded over them very slowly, Jesus was watching his pets every move with a very fond look on his face; the alcohols impact.

Daryl then looked up and around the room, on the desk he could see a pile of drawings and paintings which he presumed were Jesus', he really wanted to look at them but he felt too awkward to ask, he knew how awkward he was when people asked to see his photographs - maybe Jesus felt the same with his artwork. He then snapped out of his trance as he felt Jesus carefully take Neville from his hands and place him gently back into his enclosure filled with twigs and foliage imitating a type of forest.

"Did I ever tell you I did karate... and parkour?" Jesus then slurred to Daryl as he walked back out the room heading to the lounge.

Daryl followed him as he replied "yeah, think ya mentioned it before"

"I could... Kick your ass" Jesus smugly grinned back at Daryl as they reached the lounge.

"Yeah, sure" The biker rolled his eyes in return.

"No kiddin' I'll show you" Jesus pouted back, lips then turning into a drunken grin which made the corners of his eyes crinkle.

Daryl scoffed and walked back to the couch before he was then turned round and taken into an unexpected headlock by Jesus and elbowed in the side, then being flung onto the rug on the floor with his arms pinned by his sides with Jesus' knees.

"Told you" Jesus leered at the flustered Daryl before him, a look of genuine shock on his face.

Daryl turned bright red as he became aware of Jesus' weight sitting on his lower stomach. His eyes wide, he stared above him as Jesus' loose hair from his bun dangled next to his face, almost touching the tip of his nose. He could feel the mans warm breath on his face and it carried the strong scent of alcohol which tickled Daryl's nostrils. He watched Jesus' smug grin which slowly turned into a smirk and looked into his blue eyes which now that he was close to, he could see the darker specks of green around the outside of the iris which then got lighter surrounding the pupil. There was a glint in his eyes that made Daryl feel the same when they'd held hands on Halloween and when he was on the back of his motorcycle, clinging on to his waist.

Time seemed to enter slow motion as Jesus' mouth became parted and his eyes slowly dropped shut as he proceeded to close the space between him and Daryl. Daryl's heart beat was rapidly increasing before he realised what Jesus was trying to do and he pulled his wrists from his now loosened grip and leaned on one arm as he placed his palm firmly on the artist's chest. His breathing picked up pace and he began a cold sweat as his hand stopped Jesus' advances.

"Paul..." Daryl's voice was quiet and gravelly as he began to push Jesus off of him.

Jesus opened his eyes at hearing Daryl use his real name, something he hadn't heard in a long time. He then quickly pushed himself off Daryl, standing up and backing away. Daryl slowly stood up, breathing still fast and sweat still building up around his body. He briefly looked at Jesus, who for once wasn't looking back at him - instead his eyes were fixed on the ground, a look of embarrassment and guilt on his face.

"I need'a go" Daryl mumbled, keeping his eyes on the ground as he pushed past Jesus, picking up his motorcycle helmet and the one that his passenger had borrowed and rushing towards the door.

"Daryl... I'm..." Daryl heard Jesus quietly stutter as he swung the door open and walked out of his friends apartment and slamming it behind him.

He walked down the flight of stairs and opened the door to the complex to reveal himself to the cool night air - the rain had finally ended. He tried to slow down his breathing before putting on his helmet and hooking the other one onto the back part of the bike, then hauling his leg over the seat.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before turning on the engine and driving back to his own house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year, lets hope 2017 treats you all nicely! 
> 
> a few notes:
> 
> \- I know fuck all about bikes so if anything is wrong, Google is to blame  
> \- I love writing the blossoming friendship between this pair its really fun and all your comments and kudos are really making it worthwhile :)  
> \- and last note, sorry to leave this chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I needed some kind of plot device right?


	12. Chapter 12

Daryl slammed the two bike helmets onto the kitchen counter and slumped into the couch in the lounge, leaning his head back and cupping his face with his hands and rubbing his eyes. He let out a deep breath which he felt as if he was holding in the entire ride back from Paul's apartment. He didn't know how he felt. He'd never felt something like this before, or something like _that_  before. He was upset and confused and flustered all at once and his mind was whirring. He didn't even know why he felt upset, Paul had tried to kiss him, but he was drunk? He didn't mean it and Daryl didn't know if it was that that made him upset or just the fact that he'd tried to kiss him in general. He felt his eyes tear up as his brain overflowed with emotions that he didn't understand.

_I'm not gonna cry over this. It's stupid_

Daryl took deep breaths and wiped his eyes trying to keep himself calm. He became overwhelmed as he tried to understand his feelings as he was unfamiliar with majority of them. He was annoyed at Paul, but he also felt guilty for pushing him away. He was upset that it happened, but he still felt that spark before he stopped it from happening. He was confused that Paul made advances to him even if he was drunk, but couldn't help but wonder if he had the same feelings when he was sober.

He needed a smoke.

Daryl stood up and grabbed a pack of Malboros from the kitchen counter next to a seemingly forever empty fruit bowl and walked outside into the moonlight. He took his lighter from his pocket and opened the packet of cigarettes, taking one out and grasping it in his mouth. He lit the cigarette and took a long drag, closing his eyes as he exhaled the smoke taking slow, deep breaths. He knew smoking was a bad habit and he had made plans to try stop but there always seemed to be times like these where it was the only thing he could use to help him cope with whatever ordeal was developing. He stood on his porch, looking up at the sky with his arms resting on the railing along the decking. He started labelling all the constellations he could recognise in his head to try and take his mind off the whole situation. He took a long inhale and then exhale as he made his way back inside the house again, locking the door behind him and stubbing his cigarette in an ash tray.

He then kicked off his boots at the door and walked to his bedroom, turning off all the lights as he made his way there. He changed into his baggy t-shirt and grey sweatpants before pulling the covers from the bed and hopping underneath them, then pulling them up to his chest. He then opened the drawer next to his side of the bed and pulled out a pen and his journal. He opened the journal to a random page and began doodling, writing random words and sentences to try and ease his mind before he fell asleep. The method Rick had suggested to him years ago really had seemed to work thus far as he fell asleep soon after he placed the book back in the drawer for the night.

* * *

 

Paul's eyes flickered open as the light hit his face on his laying position on the couch he'd passed out on last night. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes and sat upright on the couch, looking at the coffee table in front of him still littered with bottles and chip packets from the night before. The memories from the night before then began flashing back to him, each flashback causing a deepening feeling of embarrassment and guilt in the pit of his stomach. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch, hugging his arms around his stomach as it began to gurgle.

Saliva started building up in his mouth and he jumped up from his position and ran to the bathroom, managing to hold his hair with one hand as he vomited up all the food and alcohol he'd consumed last night into the toilet. He winced as he coughed and nothing came up as he'd already spewed it all out, his chest and stomach began to hurt and he groaned even louder as he stood up and flushed the toilet to rid its contents - he hadn't been sick from alcohol in a long time. He took some deep breaths before going to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, then opening a cupboard and raking around until he found a bottle of Advil. He took two of the tablets and placed them in his mouth, swallowing them down with a gulp of his water - hopefully clearing his headache.

He slumped back onto the couch closing his eyes for a couple seconds more before reaching into his pocket for his phone. He unlocked it and connected it to the Bluetooth speakers in his lounge and began playing a _"chill"_ playlist he'd made; something easy to listen to in his current state. He then checked for any messages - one from Rick, unexpectedly. He furrowed his brows as he went to open the message, he wasn't sure if he'd ever had a text from Rick before, they weren't exactly close but they were definitely friends through Maggie and Glenn

> _**Rick ~** Hi Jesus, me and Michonne are having a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday with a couple friends - you're welcome to come if you don't have anything planned, we'd love to see you!_

_"Huh"_ Jesus almost whispered to himself at the sight of the invitation.

He hadn't had a proper thanksgiving dinner in a couple years now being that he hadn't seen his family. It would be nice to have company on thanksgiving for once and his friends were basically his family now since the argument with his blood relations years back. He quickly replied to the message, gratefully accepting the invitation and asking if there was anything he could bring, to which Rick replied _"just yourself"_.

As soon as he replied a thanks he suddenly felt a weight in his stomach. Daryl would probably be there. He swallowed as he remembered the night before. He'd tried to kiss Daryl, not even slyly - he just straight up went for it without any thought. He cursed at his drunken past self as he began chewing at his thumb, mulling over wether or not he should actually go. He didn't want Daryl to feel uncomfortable - especially being since he's close to Rick and Michonne, he should be able to feel comfortable around them. A part of Paul was upset that Daryl hadn't tried to kiss him in return, but for the most part he felt pretty shitty. He'd taken so long to warm up to Daryl and they were just starting to become quite close friends and now he'd gone and fucked it up due to the influence of alcohol. He should've kept to his self-made rule of _"don't get drunk around anyone you're attracted to."_ \- he was just grateful he hadn't opened up about his past, he wasn't ready for that.

Yes, he was attracted to Daryl but he felt content with them just being friends, he was just a good person to be around Paul thought. He felt incredibly guilty for making the man feel so uncomfortable especially when he should've known better when he felt Daryl's whole body tense up when he wrapped his arms round his waist on the bike, as to why Jesus loosened his grip a little more than he would've liked being he was clinging on for his life. He'd also almost forgotten the time he'd grabbed his hand out of fear in the haunted house - another impulsive move which he didn't plan on making until it happened. Daryl had held on, which gave Paul a little hope that maybe he was okay with it, but they hadn't mentioned it to each other once they were out of the building which had slightly dampened Pauls spirits but he knew that Daryl most probably wasn't interested either way.

He'd never brought up relationships with Daryl since he walked him back to his house from Glenn's that one night. The man had radiated the feeling of uncomfortableness as soon as Paul had asked him about it, so he took a note of it and never mentioned it again. He mentioned his own relationships but he was always careful what he asked Daryl because one wrong move and they were back to being strangers - one wrong move that Paul had most definitely just made last night.

He didn't know if Daryl was interested in any relationship in general, let alone one with someone the same sex, Paul was angry at himself for making a move like that and making the other man feel so upset. As soon as Daryl slammed the door shut last night, Paul had just slumped on to the couch and fallen asleep thinking he would deal with the situation in the morning when he was more sober. Now that he was sober, he still didn't know how to deal with the situation - he felt a bunch of flowers and an apology letter wasn't quite the thing for Mr Dixon. He wanted to formally apologise face to face, but he also didn't want to visit the mans home and invade his privacy especially if he didn't want him to be there. Paul sat with his head in his hands, mulling over all the different apologies he could make, eventually settling on just a text message, he'd apologise face to face when he thought the time was right and things had settled slightly more. Paul took out his phone from his pocket and began typing a message, stopping and reading it before deleting it and re-typing, making sure he was using the correct words and punctuation. He probably put more effort into proof reading this text than he had any English essay in school.

> _**Paul (11:46AM) ~** Hi Daryl, I truly can't stress enough how sorry I am for last night. It was totally uncalled for and a mistake. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable - it definitely wasn't my intention and I would never want to make you feel that way in my home. If there's anything I can do to redeem myself, please tell me, I need to make it up to you. I hope this doesn't change things between us as I really treasure you as a friend. Maybe we can talk soon? - Paul_

Paul sent the message and locked his phone immediately afterwards. He shoved it into the docking station on the shelf piled with books on the wall of the lounge room and headed to the spare room to feed his first roommate.

* * *

 

Daryl gulped and his breath hitched as he saw his phone light up with a message. He let out a sigh when he realised it was only Rick. He opened the message and replied quickly to Rick whom was asking if he wanted to come to his for thanksgiving - an annual get together now. They usually held it a couple days before thanksgiving as Rick and Michonne had family to go to but this year they decided to have it on actual Thanksgiving day and visit their families later in the week. Daryl had always gone, he was a sucker for home cooking and a proper Thanksgiving dinner was always calling his name. 

He then got up from his place on the office chair and began making himself a cup of coffee in the staff room coffee machine. He'd woken up a little later than usual today due to his night out and had gone straight into the shower once he got out of bed to try and get a fresh start to the day. Daryl made his black coffee and went to sit back down on the chair, switching tabs on his computer browser and heading to YouTube and turning it to a random documentary channel. He sat watching the documentary on the Rainforest in Southern America to ease his mind and chill for a while as he sipped at his coffee.

He was interrupted from his watching as his phone vibrated on the desk. He flicked his eyes towards is, looking at it for a couple seconds before deciding to lean over and pick it up. He pressed the lock button on the top of the phone and his mouth became dry as he saw who the message was from. He read Paul's message and immediately locked his phone again. He rubbed his eyes and placed the phone on the desk again. He knew Paul could see now that he'd read his message but he honestly didn't know what to reply with. He was upset and confused and he also didn't want it to change anything with their friendship but he couldn't help but feel paranoid that it would and it already had. Daryl would definitely remember it, he didn't think it would change anything between them but it was certainly something he'd remember for a long time.

Then came all the _"what ifs"_ , what if Daryl had kissed him back? For a brief moment when it was happening, Daryl almost felt like he would have, especially when he had that warm feeling he got whenever he had some sort of intimate interaction with Paul. It's as if his impulsive tendencies were just itching at him, trying to get him to make that move but he stopped himself before it happened. Daryl had never really given much thought to his sexuality, he'd always presumed he was straight just because he grew up in a home with two hicks that would've beat him if he was anything else. When he thought about it, he'd never really been attracted to any women in that way, of course he could admit when a girl was nice looking but he'd never seen anyone and wanted to get to know them more.

His only ever kiss had been a girl, one of Merles junkie friends paired with a game of truth or dare - of course Daryl was dared to "make out" with the woman. He was 18 and she was 29, quite the age gap but Daryl had lied about having kissed someone before to ease the amount of shit he'd get from his brother if he found out he was 18 and had never kissed anyone before and was most definitely a virgin.

For a while, he just thought he didn't like anyone in a romantic way - which he didn't think was normal until he did some extensive Internet research and found out a whole lot more on the topic. He'd just come to terms with himself that nobody would ever fall for him, that he was unloveable and it was too late for him to find anyone. He always felt that way - nobody would ever be able to put up with him that long enough to settle down, not many people understood his problems and it took him a long time to warm up to people so if he were to ever be in a relationship with someone, they'd have to gain his trust first.

"What if..." Daryl whispered to himself as he lay his head back on the couch and took a deep breath before returning to his phone and playing a video game he'd downloaded on it to pass time at work.

* * *

 

Thanksgiving day came and Daryl was looking forward to having a good night with his "family" for the first time in a while. He still hadn't replied to the text Paul had sent him even just after a week long time for him to consider, he felt kind of bad about it but he still hadn't quite worked out what to say and wasn't sure if he was ready to see him again or not. He kind of felt he ought to do something, apologise or... He wasn't entirely sure.

He definitely wanted to see Paul, and possibly speak about what happened - preferably not, but he knew it was inevitable and he was just putting it off because he was scared of what Paul or he would say. Paul admitted it was a mistake, which Daryl presumed meant he didn't have feelings for him which made him oddly miffed. Did he want him to have feelings for him? Daryl didn't know, he just knew that when he was with him he felt things that he'd never felt before and he knew he needed to feel them again.

He tried not to think about it but it seemed to be all that had occupied his mind that week, whenever he wasn't doing something to distract himself his brain just kept shifting back to those thoughts - replaying them over and over trying to analyse every tingle, every red face and work out what to do with the information it had gathered. It was like Daryl had been handed a paper on quantum physics and was told to just get on with the work having no prior knowledge - he had no clue what to do with it. That's probably why he couldn't suppress them because he hadn't come to a conclusion as to why they were there in the first place. He was hopelessly stuck in a well of skepticism and he couldn't find a length of rope long enough to climb out.

Daryl rolled up to the Grimes household at 5pm as RSVP'd with a cheese platter he'd found at Target under his arm. He'd opted for a plain black, short sleeved flannel shirt with a black suede jacket over the top with his only non-ripped pair of dark, navy jeans. He also wore his usual brown boots which he took off at the door and left them by the mat as he walked into the house, not wanting to dirty the carpets with his worn, messy soles. Rick welcomed him with open arms and a big grin resulting in the edges of his eyes crinkling as he smiled. Michonne then gave Daryl a kiss on the cheek prompting a flush of pink onto his face. Carl gave him a small wave and a smile from behind Michonne then gave his hand a firm shake wishing him a Happy Thanksgiving. Daryl could smell the food wafting throughout the house; turkey and stuffing, roasted vegetables which contrasted with the sweet scent of desserts, of which Daryl couldn't decipher exactly which ones. He heard a familiar cluster of laughs which made him feel warm and along with the delicious smell it lead him towards the dining room.

He was greeted by a cheer and a flock of chairs being pushed back from the table as Glenn and Maggie both embraced him before returning to their seats, then leaving one guest in front of him. Paul. Daryl swallowed as he looked at the man before him who was wearing an olive button down and a pair of black jeans, his hair in a bun and his circular glasses lenses glaring in the spotlight. He gave a timid smile to Daryl before hesitantly lifting his hand up for it to be taken in Daryl's own. Daryl returned the shy smile which more often than not only tilted up to the left side of his face and took the younger mans hand, shaking it slowly and gently before letting go, leaving his fist to fall back to his side. The two men stood looking at each other for what felt like a lot longer than 5 minutes before they were awaken from their trance by Rick offering Daryl a cold beer - probably a good call for he hadn't noticed the sudden raise of temperature in his body since he's entered the dining area.

Carl entered the room and sat down at one end of the table resting his face in his hands, leaning his elbows on the surface as he stared at the bowls and plates of food waiting to be scoffed down and heaved an impatient sigh. Daryl then sat at the other end of the table, facing Carl and almost mirrored his movements, then Michonne came in carrying the platter with the steaming turkey laying on top receiving a gasp from her audience at the table. She placed it in the centre of the table before Rick came up behind her, placing his hands on her waist before kissing her cheek and telling her she did a great job with the food - as always.

Rick and Michonne then sat at one of the long sides of the rectangular table, facing Glenn and Maggie, Paul then sat next to Maggie at the end of the longer side, the closest end to Daryl. As the man sat down Daryl shifted his chair slightly as their feet touched under the table, then cleared his throat as if to try and loosen the tension. He grabbed his ice cool beer and placed it at his lips taking a couple sips before placing it down on the table and leaning over the table to grab the fork and cut some pieces of turkey for his plate. The table echoed with light chatter and clattering of cutlery and everyone filled their plates, everyone seemed to be chatting bar Paul and Daryl. There was an apparent awkward tension between the two, everyone talked to them, but they never uttered a word to each other the entire first course before Daryl shoved a forkful of food into his mouth as Rick asked a question.

"Daryl and Jesus have been going to lunch together right?" The man smiled innocently over at the pair.

Daryl almost choked on his mouthful of stuffing when Rick finished his question, face going red as he coughed and swallowed quickly before taking a gulp of his beer. He looked at Paul who looked down at his plate, trying to hide himself snickering at the older man next to him.

"Yeah, a few times" Paul saved Daryl the trouble of speaking, looking shyly up at Rick across the table, voice soft.

Paul then looked back down at his plate, scraping up the remaining mashed potatoes with his fork and shoving them in his mouth. Daryl looked over at Rick who was taking a sip from his glass of beer, the man raised one eyebrow at Daryl and the sides of his mouth turned into a cheeky grin. Daryl rolled his eyes at his best friend before bringing the rim of his bottle back to his mouth.

Did Rick know? Did Rick see something that Daryl didn't? Suddenly Daryl felt a wave of anxiety hit him as he thought about the possibility of Rick knowing there was something that happened between them. The only way he could know was if Paul told him which Daryl could bet that he didn't, but, did he see that Daryl was acting weird around him? He felt self conscious all of a sudden and abruptly became very aware and cautious of his actions. He knew that Rick was just trying to wind him up but there was still that thought itching in the back of his mind that maybe he was being really obvious with his feelings towards the bearded man sitting next to him - who he then realised he'd caught himself staring at him for a good while.

His eyes flickered up when he saw that Rick was waiting patiently next to him, his hand extended anticipating when Daryl would hand him his empty plate to be brought to the dishwasher for cleaning. Daryl mumbled and gave Rick his plate, fumbling with his hands before his friend grasped his shoulder and leaned down.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He whispered in Daryl's ear before standing up straight again and pulling out Daryl's chair for him.

"Come help me with this Daryl" Rick then said out loud as if to mask his prior request.

Daryl's heart was thumping rapidly as his eyes looked into Rick's, worry flooded in them. Rick returned him a reassuring look before Daryl stood up and followed him to the kitchen. Rick set the dishes down on a counter and turned to face Daryl, his hands grasping the edges of the counter surface. Daryl stood awkwardly in the centre of the floor before backing into the breakfast bar on the side opposing Rick, leaning his back against the table.

"What's up?" Rick furrowed his brows and looked concerned as he stared into Daryl's icy blues.

"Nothin'" Daryl mumbled in reply, struggling to keep eye contact with the officer.

Rick exhaled sharply and grinned, looking at his feet before looking back up at the biker. He always knew when Daryl wasn't telling the truth.

"You're acting weird, you've been quiet all night. Don't tell me nothing's wrong. I know you Daryl." Rick tilted his head to the right side slightly and gave Daryl a soft look, pushing him to speak more.

"You know you can tell me anything brother"

Daryl's heart twinged as the words left Rick's mouth, a warmth radiating throughout him and a feeling of calmness. Similar to the feelings he felt when he was Paul, but stemmed from a different sort of meaning that Daryl wasn't sure if he was ready to admit yet. He didn't really know what to tell Rick, _"oh yeah it's just that a guy called Jesus tried to kiss me last week and he's sitting right next to me now and you know I don't even think I really would've minded if it had actually happened?!"_ Daryl was taken aback by his own thoughts as he suddenly realised what his mind just mustered up.

"Is it Jesus?" Rick suddenly blurted as if he was reading Daryl's thoughts, realising that he wasn't going to talk anytime soon.

"I... Uh..." Daryl stuttered, unsure on what to reply.

"Did something happen between you two?" Rick enquired almost whispering, genuine concern and a sense of gentleness in his eyes.

Daryl was unsure of what he was implying. It was as if Rick could actually read his mind, he always forgot how well he knew him and how good he had always been at reading him like a book.

"Uhh... Nah just... Had an um... Argument" Daryl's voice was gravelly and became a whisper as he reached the end of the sentence.

Rick narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him as if he didn't quite believe the words escaping his mouth. He hummed as he lifted up one arm and rest his elbow on the counter, still leaving his other hand grasping onto the edge.

"What kinda argument?" He further enquired, looking up at Daryl and staring into his eyes.

"Just a misunderstandin', doesn't matter, was stupid" Daryl grumbled, flickering his eyes up to Rick before back down to his hands fumbling together in front of him.

"Okay, as long as it's just that. You know I'm here if there's anything else. Anything." Rick raised his eyebrows and walked over to Daryl, squeezing his shoulder before letting go and patting him on the back, pushing him back toward the dining room.

Daryl swallowed and looked down at his feet as Rick led him back to the dining room with the rest of the guests. He felt rather vulnerable, Rick really emphasised that last word.

 _Anything_ , he said.

Yet Daryl still didn't know how he would ever be able to confess his true feelings to anyone, he couldn't even admit them to himself. So what if he did like Paul, he felt good around him, he looked forward to being in his company whenever they would meet and he could see that he really wanted to be there with him too. He was empathetic, had a clever sense of humour which Daryl appreciated and he was a good listener which he valued very dearly in a friend.

The ones that remembered the little things about him and brought them up time to time letting him know that they cared enough about him to remember those kind of things. Like Glenn who remembered the name of Daryl's favourite teacher, his favourite colour, his go-to drink at a bar (whiskey and coke) and the same exact shirt he wore when they first met. This one Glenn mentioned whenever he was wearing it - an olive green and black plaid pattern, short sleeved shirt, the arms were a little frayed and a button was missing (the second one from the bottom) so it was never quite buttoned fully up. Glenn then made a joke about the forever missing button and made it his lifelong mission to find an exact replica _"however long it took"_ Daryl always scoffed and rolled his eyes but it meant a lot more to him than Glenn knew. It was dumb, but it was those things that mattered to him.

Rick listened to Daryl whenever he had something bothering him, as he did the same for him. Rick would come to him for "love advice" to which at first Daryl was mightily confused as he was probably the worst candidate for that topic but Rick thought that he was always blunt and straight to the point and wouldn't lie to him if something was stupid and he preferred that kind of approach to it rather than someone telling him something that just wasn't right at all.

To add to that, Daryl knew all his friends inside out, they may not be able to tell but he he was extremely good at reading people and he knew their likes and dislikes and all the inbetweens, he could tell when they had something itching at their minds or when they were pissed off or were really enjoying something - even with little expression on their face. He watched their body language and their eyes and how they acted around people to tell how they were feeling, he remembered each of their first words uttered to him and each of their last whenever he went to sleep for that night. He was selfless and thoughtful and introverted but also witty and charming and resourceful. Most people tended to shy away from Daryl Dixon but the ones who didn't were those that felt truly lucky they had a person just like him in their lives - it was just a shame that it took a while for Daryl to realise that.

So would he tell Rick that the thing that was bothering him was sitting right next to him at this dinner table? No, probably not, well, maybe not for a while anyway. He wasn't ready for that quite yet even though he knew that Rick would love him all the same.

* * *

 

Eventually the night went on, Daryl was still quieter than usual - elephant still present in the room, wedging its ass in the space between him and Paul at the table, everyone else none the wiser to it. They had finished dessert and were now chatting amongst themselves and eventually it got on to the topic of love and marriage of all things. Rick and Michonne were talking about their wedding plans to everyone, deciding on what the menu for the event would be, asking everyone their opinions for the date in the Autumn of next year.

Carl was teased by Rick and Glenn about Enid - the usual "embarrassing dad" excerpts coming from the pairs mouthes, each time another was uttered the intensity of Carl's blushing cheeks and frustrated expression increased eventually leading him to resting his forehead against the table to hide his bashfulness as Michonne told off the two giggling men telling them they'd done enough. Somehow it got to Paul who had also been rather quiet the whole night, letting everyone else speak and listening intently giving a laugh and an input if needed be - out of character for the usually chatty and easy going man.

"So... How's the love life going, you found any guys that are good to you yet?" Maggie teased her friend, one elbow resting on the table as she cupped her cheek in her hand, an endearing grin on her face.

Paul scoffed and raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes before letting his brows rest again. Daryl couldn't look at him, but from the corner of his eyes he could see Pauls gaze set on him for a second before looking back up at the rest of the group.

"I uhm... Haven't been looking really, no, yeah" Paul gave an awkward smile to Maggie - his words seemed to be in a bit of a shambles for the often well spoken and confident man.

"I should start looking for ya, I don't want you getting your heart broken again by a douchebag" Maggie raised one eyebrow and smiled at Paul, voice soft, resting her hand over his.

Paul smiled back at her and gave a small nod before looking back down at the board of cheese on the table - suddenly it was really quite interesting to him. Daryl twiddled with his fingers on the table in front of him, chewing the side of his cheek - something he often did when he was uncomfortable or anxious. There was a slightly awkward silence at the table before suddenly Daryl pushed his seat back and stood up.

"Better go, getting late I got work tomorrow" he grumbled before taking his empty plate and heading to the kitchen.

He could feel everyones stares on him at his abrupt action and suddenly started feeling very self conscious. He heard muffled chatter coming from the dining room as he placed his plate in the sink now piling with dishes.

"You know when I said anything I meant it" Daryl was startled by Rick's low voice behind him.

He swiftly turned round to face his friend who had a look of concern drawn on his face.

"So, what's wrong?" Rick continued, stepping a little closer to Daryl.

"Nothin', just wanna go home, can't I do that?" Daryl began to get frustrated and hot as he fumbled with his fingers.

"Daryl ple-"

"Don't wanna talk about it" Daryl growled, his irritation getting the better of him.

Rick raised his hands in defeat, he was visibly hurt that Daryl obviously didn't trust him with something and Daryl immediately regretted his words once he opened his mouth.

"Thanks for having me I'll pick up the bike tomorrow" Daryl's voice then became softer as he looked his friend in the eye before dropping his gaze to the ground, the guilt of his actions weighing in on him.

He then took his jacket from the hanger next to the door before swinging it open and storming out, closing it rather roughly behind him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked down the street heading back home. It was at least a 40 minute walk away but he could really do with the cool air hitting his face. He felt bad for just leaving like that but he couldn't be there any longer, the weight of all his emotions just piled on him at once and he felt like a panic attack was starting to well up inside him as he could feel the trickle of a tear run down his face.

He wasn't sure where this outburst of emotion came from. He just knew he needed to let it out, he'd been overflowing with his thoughts the past couple months since he met Paul and he was just starting to realise that yes, he really did like him. Not in a way that friends like each other or that you like a movie star or a teacher, like as in - you want to spend every ounce of time with them, feel physical contact, hear about their day, watch TV and movies together and feel safe with them.

Shit.

This was what people in a relationship felt. He wanted to be with Paul and he didn't know what to do with those feelings so fuck it might as well mope around and feel sorry for himself until he decided to step up and do something about it. So he did just that, making sure to kick empty bottles and piles of Autumn leaves on the pavement as he walked past them as if he were in an angsty Rock video, all the way back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed this chapter! Since Daryl has started using Paul i'll stop using "Jesus" unless another character is talking to him
> 
> also i have mock exams next week so I'll apologise in advance if the next few chapters are a little late in being uploaded.. 
> 
> thanks again for all the lovely comments and kudos, it really means a lot x


	13. Chapter 13

Daryl had reached the quiet roads nearing his house surrounded by the forest and so had taken to walking in the middle of the road, still kicking rocks and odd bits of garbage on his way as a mechanism to rid him of his sudden outburst of teenage style angst. As his house reached his view he was startled to see a car parked outside, headlights glaring and reflecting on the house windows. He squinted his eyes in attempts to see what the car looked like and who was its occupant but failed as the lights were shining almost directly in his eyes.

His heart started thumping a little faster as he further approached the vehicle, it was nearing 10pm and he wasn't expecting any guests that he knew of so an unknown vehicle parked outside his house - which was located in quite a remote area, was something a little worrying. As he got closer he shielded his eyes with his hand covering them slightly so the glare of the lights weren't as strong until suddenly they were gone.

Daryl stopped in his tracks before slowly and quietly reaching the car, he heard the door of the vehicle slam as the headlights went out and could now see a figure standing outside it. The figure walked around to the front of the car and perched themselves on the hood, letting their feet dangle as they clasped their hands together in front of them resting on their knees. Daryl was now within a couple meters of the car, the only source of light was the moon and even then he knew exactly who the figure was. He took a deep breath before kicking his last rock on the road and strolling over towards Paul sitting on the car hood, the inevitable finally happening. Without looking at him, Daryl turned and rest his back on the drivers door so he wasn't facing his friend.

"I would've picked you up but, you must've taken a different route" Paul mumbled into the darkness.

Daryl grunted in return and shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them warm in the cool air and looked down at his feet, shuffling them in the dirt road leaving patterns of dust below them.

"I'm sorry" Paul then continued, his voice almost a whisper, but still echoing in Daryl's mind to the sound of the crickets and night creatures roaming the woods.

Daryl fumbled with his keys in his pocket and sighed, he accepted his apology but he just didn't know what to say next. Instead he just stifled up a "mhm" and continued twisting his keys around in his pocket with his left hand.

"Rick spoke to me. Said that you mentioned we had an argument. I told him it was just because I was drunk, nothing else, so he's off your back now."

Daryl then turned his head to face Paul in the darkness, the moonlight made a glint in his eyes so he could still see them piercing through him. "Thank you" Daryl then finally spoke some real words for the first time in the whole 5-10 minutes they'd been out there.

"No problem, least I could do for you" Paul replied, his eyes were glossed over with relief as Daryl finally spoke up.

"I'm... 'M sorry I didn't reply to your text" The archer grumbled, you could hear the honesty in his voice, he really did mean his apology and Paul could tell, even if he couldn't see his face clearly he could hear it in his voice that he really was sorry.

"No, it's okay, I... Didn't really expect you to." The younger man then replied, his voice soft in the natural environment, "I'm just... Glad that we could talk. And, I hope this means we're friends again" Paul tilted his head upwards from his feet dangling over the edge of the car, looking hopefully at Daryl waiting for his answer.

"Didn't stop being friends in the firs' place" Daryl reassured Paul, looking into his eyes and letting his words speak louder than his actions for once.

Paul exhaled sharply and a smile grew on his face as he looked at his feet bashfully. It was dark, but Daryl was sure he had made the other man blush, something that was rather hard to achieve.

"So does that mean, lunch tomorrow?" The artist looked up at Daryl sanguinely as he pushed himself off the hood of his car.

"Lunch tomorrow." Daryl confirmed, a small smile growing on his face as he took his weight off the car door and stepping back to look at Paul.

There was a slightly awkward silence as Paul and Daryl faced each other for a couple seconds before Paul proceeded forwards, slowly opening his arms up, offering to embrace Daryl. Daryl was a little taken aback and stepped a little bit further backwards, stumbling as Paul looked at him knowingly, a smile still on his face and began letting his arms fall back down to his sides.

Now or never

Daryl retraced his steps that he stumbled on and walked slowly back to Paul who then raised his arms back up and took Daryl into a hug. Daryl was rigid and stiff at first, but he then wrapped his arms around the smaller man, his chin hanging over his shoulder and his body loosened - those same old feelings hitting him again. It was the first time Daryl had felt truly safe in anyone's arms apart from Rick or Glenn's in a long time. Daryl squeezed his eyes close and breathed in Pauls scent, he could smell his cologne and his shampoo as his long hair tickled his nose which was buried into the crook of his neck. Due to the height difference, Daryl had his arms wrapped under Pauls armpits and hands hooked on his shoulders whereas Paul had his arms tangled round Daryl's waist, his hand gently rubbing the small of his back. It made Daryl feel fuzzy inside and he didn't feel the pinch of the cold outside anymore. After what felt like a good while, the pair let go of each other. Daryl felt like he could've stayed that way for a lot longer but it was getting late and he knew Paul should be getting home.

"That was..." Paul swallowed before continuing "nice" he smiled coyly at Daryl who's face had turned beetroot and feet were shuffling on the ground - thank the Lord it was dark out.

"I better go, goodnight Daryl" he then continued, grabbing open the door of his car and sitting in the drivers seat, reaching over for his seatbelt.

"Goodnight Paul" Daryl shyly replied whilst lifting up his hand in an attempt at a small wave.

Paul grinned and looked down at the steering wheel after hearing Daryl use his real name, he liked it... A lot.

Daryl then shut the door for Paul and watched him as he drove off into the night with a smile on his face and a feeling of satisfaction and pride that he'd let someone get close to him like that. Safe to say, he got a good nights sleep that night.

* * *

 

"Just the usual Amy" Paul smiled up at the blonde from his seat at the booth in the corner in "the Alexandria", Daryl sitting across from him scrolling through his phone.

"Sure thing boys, it'll be here soon!" She chirped back, bounding off back to the diner.

Paul waved her off before returning his attention to the man sitting across from him, brows furrowed and eyes focused on something on his phone, he kept making little expressions - pouting his lips, widening his eyes, all of which Paul found very endearing.

Last night had really struck something in Paul, he began to feel for Daryl, he already loved him as a friend but he was starting to feel something stronger. He started noticing all his little flaws, he wasn't necessarily a conventionally attractive man. His hair was often greasy with motorcycle oil but when he washed it it looked so soft that Paul just wanted to run his hands through it. On his upper lip on the left hand side of his face were placed two beauty marks covered with greying scruff which grew into an almost-goatee on his chin. His eyes were narrow and bags quite prominent but the artist always noticed when he managed to make him smile or laugh there was a glint in them like he was just a teenager, a youthful glow. The man did seem to be much older than Paul but he didn't mind, they were both mature adults and that's what mattered. Paul had caught himself staring more than a few times but Daryl had always ended up clueless.

"Why were you at Rick's last night? Thought ya had family" Daryl piped up, catching Paul off guard.

It wasn't often Daryl asked questions, even more so quite personal ones.

"Oh um..." Paul stuttered unsure of what to say.

"Ye don't have to answer that sorry" Daryl looked quite embarrassed that he'd asked such a personal question, knowing how he would've felt himself.

"No it's fine" Paul replied, managing to stifle a small smile back up at Daryl, reassuring him it was okay. "Me and my family had an argument around two years back, well, mostly my dad and older brother. It got out of hand and they used some slurs and I just, couldn't forgive them. They apologised afterwards but I just feel I'm not welcome home anymore. Mom still calls, my sister sometimes too but, I don't know I just... Don't really want to see them" Paul looked down at his hands on the table as he finished his story, chewing on his bottom lip.

Daryl felt a little stupid, he'd always just presumed Paul had a good upbringing and nice family with very little problems from what he'd been told about them and how generally happy and outgoing the man seemed to be, he guessed he should just stop presuming things.

"'M sorry" Daryl mumbled, fumbling with his hands on the table.

"Nothing to be sorry about, it's the past, I'm happy where I am now" Paul gave a soft smile back to the unsure man as Amy arrived with their order.

* * *

 

Daryl was sitting at the desk in his room developing some of his photographs whilst eating the contents of a microwave noodle pot when his phone rang. He jumped as he got a fright from the sudden vibration on the wooden surface of the desk and put down his fork piled with noodles before picking it up and answering.

"Hello?" He greeted through the line, he forgot to look at the caller ID to see who it was.

"Hey Daryl-" Daryl knew who it was now, he couldn't get that voice from his head the past couple weeks. "Um... I have this uh art show type thing next week and I was wondering if-you'd-maybe-like-to-come?" Paul rushed the last words of his sentence as if he was afraid to ask.

"You don't have to, it's just this like open gallery night at this museum and they're letting artists from the town have their own displays in a certain room and Tara put my name down for it so I kinda have no choice but to be there now. But no pressure you don't ha-"

"I'll be there" Daryl answered, no hesitation.

"Oh, well... Um great thanks I guess I'll see you there then?"

"Yeah just text me where 'n when it is and shit"

"Yeah, yeah I'll do that thank you I can't wait to see you there!" Paul exclaimed before the pair said their goodbyes and hung up on the phone.

Daryl was looking quite forward to seeing Pauls art. He hadn't seen very much of it but what he had seen he was blown away by. He would kill to be able to draw or paint but he just didn't seem to have the skill set. His eye was more focused on photography in the aspect of creative arts. Art museums weren't really his thing, most of the art was something that looked like it could be done by a toddler in his opinion but he'd go just for Paul.

* * *

 

"Fuck" Daryl exclaimed as he looked at the time on his work computer which read 7:58pm.

He was meant to be at Pauls art exhibition thing at half seven but he was running behind on his work as Negan had came in earlier in the day and dropped a pile of unfinished paperwork which needed to be in the next day for him to pick up. Dwight and Simon - the only other two workers he knew wouldn't fuck up the papers were both absent. Dwight had left early to go to a doctors appointment and Simon was on a two week break after he broke his wrist - something Daryl was sure he didn't need two weeks off for.

So there he was with three more papers to complete for the deadline and a ticking clock in front of him just rubbing it in his face how late he was. His phone had died and he'd forgotten his charger so he couldn't even text Paul to tell him how late he'd be which made him even more frustrated.

"Fuckin' Negan" he whispered to himself as he flicked over to the last page to be completed, scrawling in all the details in almost illegible handwriting.

He finished the last paper and logged off the computer, pulling the sheets up and placing them in a neat pile on the desk, leaving a sticky note on top of them labelled for his boss to pick up the next day. He then jogged to the staff room to grab his bag and motorcycle helmet, forcefully shoving it on his head before speed walking to the exit of the shop. He flung open the door and locked it behind him, vaulting on to his bike seat and taking the key from his pocket and starting up the vehicle. He then rammed his foot down on the pedal and sped off to Pauls art show - now 45 minutes late.

By the time Daryl arrived at the museum he was now a full hour late, he groaned as he got off his bike, placing his helmet on the seat and using a padlock to secure it down so nobody could steal it and ran to the entrance of the aristocratical looking building. He got inside, his face red from the combination of running and cool outside air coming into the contrasting heat of the museum. He looked around, looking for directions to where Paul told him he'd be and rushed up a set of stairs, being stopped by a young woman trying to hassle him into taking a leaflet. He took the leaflet with a quick thanks and headed towards Paul.

He found the room Paul was meant to be presenting his work and finally slowed down to catch his breath so he wasn't to look like a hot mess once he finally saw his friend. He scanned the room and spotted him. He was standing alone, looking down at his feet and rubbing his hands together. He was wearing his signature glasses but Daryl could see behind them he looked rather tired and downtrodden. Daryl felt his heart sink at the sight, it was rare to see Paul looking anything other than upbeat and jolly. He slowly walked over to Paul, wiping the sweat from his forehead before shoving his hands in his pockets. At the shuffling of Daryl's feet Paul looked up and shone a huge grin towards Daryl, eyes instantly lighting up at the sight of him.

"Daryl? I didn't think you were coming" The artist said, a sense of surprise in his voice.

"Yeah, 'm sorry I'm really late, gotta shit tonne of paperwork, nobody was there ta help me out. I woulda texted you but my stupid phone died" Daryl growled at the mention of his mobile device which he constantly seemed to have a love hate relationship with.

"Yeah no it's fine I'm just... Really glad you're here" Paul smiled fondly at Daryl.

"Has everyone else been?" Daryl asked.

He knew that Paul had invited all their friends in hopes they could come support him and the only one that he knew couldn't make it was Rosita.

"Uh... No, actually" Paul looked back down at his feet as if he were embarrassed. "Everyone either dropped out for personal reasons or just, haven't shown up. Tara was called this morning to see her sister. You're the only one that's come" Paul looked up at Daryl with such appreciation in his eyes.

"Oh" was all Daryl could muster in surprise.

No wonder Paul had looked upset when he walked in, out of all his friends he invited to come and support him at an art show where on the same night there were a few famous pieces being presented, Daryl was the only one of them to show up. He felt quite angered about that. Paul was a good friend to everyone and he deserved everyone's endless support.

"Anyway, come I'll show you my shit" Paul smirked before leading Daryl round a corner and into a cornered off area of the room, surrounded by fake walls covered head to toe in canvases and paper.

"'m sure it ain't shit" Daryl leered in reply, earning a scoff from the younger man.

"So we got paintings this side, sketches here, these are just random things and over there is the like proper canvas pieces." Paul informed, gesturing towards each of the different art mediums and giving small explanations for what they are.

Daryl looked up and down the walls in awe, Paul had done a huge selection of different subject matters - all his pieces were different. Some were of people, some were buildings, trees, vehicles, animals the lot. One painting in particular grabbed Daryl's attention. They walked over to the large canvases kneeling up against the wall. Daryl looked at them intently as Paul described them with a tone of passion is his voice and became very gesticulative whilst telling Daryl all about the paintings and where he got the inspiration from. Daryl kneeled down in front of the particular painting which grabbed his attention. He narrowed his eyes and made a face of confusion as Paul realised what Daryl had spotted and halted in the midst of his passion filled speech.

"Is this..." Daryl started before he was interrupted almost immediately by Paul.

"Um... Yeah, maybe, yeah it's you" Paul stumbled on his words as he rubbed the back of his head with his palm and his face became beetroot. Daryl had never seen the younger man blush so hard all the time he knew him. He was usually ever so smooth and chilled but at this moment in time he'd become a flustered, fumbling mess, almost melting with bashfulness.

Daryl looked at the painting, it was the outside of his work. His Harley was standing out front and Paul had painted him working on it, you couldn't see his face, it was only the back of his head and his kneeled down body in front of the bike. But you could tell it was Daryl as on his back was his frayed and worn angel wing vest, instantly recognisable and something Daryl's friends associated with him a lot. It was painted with oil paints from what Daryl could tell and the colours were quite something. Paul had used a limited colour palette for the background of the image - Browns and greys with some dark blues whereas from what you could see of the sky in the image was all purples, oranges and pinks like a sunset. He had also made Daryl's figure and the bike brighter colours too to make them stand out from the monotone background. Daryl was impressed to say the least.

"How much?" Daryl then spoke up, breaking the silence between the pair without his eyes leaving Pauls artwork.

"Huh?" Paul raised one eyebrow whilst the other frowned in confusion.

"How much is it? Wanna buy it" Daryl then expanded, then looking up to see Pauls face.

"Oh well, I... I don't know you can just take it"

"Nah, I'm paying ya"

"Well, we can work it out later? I'll need to do the math, I'm a little too tired to do that right now."

"S'fine. It's really good Paul. All of them." Daryl complimented the artist making him smile at his feet, hiding the fondness in his eyes behind his glasses.

"Thank you, means a lot" the man smiled back at Daryl as he stood up from his kneeling position.

"Well, come and I'll show you the rest of the show" Paul then lightly grasped Daryl's arm before letting go and leading him through the building.

The rest of the night consisted of Paul giving an artist's eye view to all the other art featured in the show, and Daryl giving his not so arty view. Humorous comments made for every _"abstract"_ piece and digs at the artists who Daryl had very little appreciation for as the painting "looks like a dog dragged its ass over the canvas" - earning a hearty belly laugh from Paul who then had to quieten himself to avoid the pretentious art lovers disappointed glares. Eventually the show ended and Daryl helped Paul bring all his artwork back to his car, placing it carefully in the boot and the back seat. Daryl had never handled something so carefully in his life, Pauls art was precious and he'd never forgive himself if he were to damage any of it. They finished filling up Pauls car and stood back, Paul with his hands on his hips and glasses resting on top of his head, Daryl wiping the sweat from his forehead letting out a sigh.

"You wanna go get food? I haven't had any since lunch" Paul turned to look at Daryl, waiting for him to accept his offer.

"Sure" Daryl replied.

"There's a few food trucks not far from here next to the nature reservation park thing, we can walk down that way and see what we want" Paul then turned on his feet and led Daryl towards the park.

Daryl watched in endearment as the smaller man walked in front of him with a skip in his step, he couldn't help but smile at the sight. He was glad that he'd made Paul happy by coming to the art show, especially when he was so downtrodden that nobody else had turned up. "Ooh" Paul pursed his lips as he looked up at the bright neon sign of a Mexican food truck.

"You want Mexican?" He asked, the glint in his eyes was too damn irresistible to refuse the offer so Daryl accepted straight away.

* * *

 

"It was like _this_ big I swear to god I've never ran so fast" Paul gesticulated showing Daryl exactly how big the spider he found in his apartment was yesterday.

Daryl laughed at the mans story as he told him how he had to phone Tara to get the " _abomination"_ out of his bedroom. He took a bite of his mint chocolate ice cream cone which had started to get soggy at the bottom and tutted when a drop of melted ice cream fell to the path way they were walking along. Paul had opted for a strawberry cone in attempts to cool his mouth after the _"extra firey"_ tacos which Daryl had advised him not to get without taking a drink with it - Paul politely refusing but immediately regretting afterwards.

The artist took the remainders of the wafer cone in his mouth and hopped on the short railing separating the grass from the sidewalk. He placed one foot in front of the other very cautiously using his arms to balance on the narrow pole, using his karate and parkour skills to keep him from falling off as he walked along the length of it, tongue sticking halfway out of his mouth in concentration.

Daryl smirked before coming up behind the man and nudging him, making him lose his balance and stumble onto the grass on the other side of the pole. Daryl laughed as he watched the usually nimble on his feet friend trip on his feet and almost fall face flat onto the grassy surface.

"Hey not fair Dixon" Paul shouted in a fake annoyance, he couldn't help himself but let out the laugh he was keeping in.

Daryl giggled before popping the rest of his cone in his mouth and rubbing his hands together, then clasping them and out stretching them to make his fingers crack. He then hopped onto the railing, repeating Pauls movements and trying to balance on it whilst slowly making his way along the length of it. He was a lot more shaky and wobbly on his feet that Paul given that he was a naturally klutzy person anyway and he had no experience in Pauls "ninja shit". Slowly but surely he reached the end of the railing and hopped off, extending his arms before bowing as Paul have a slow clap in his direction and a half-assed cheer.

"Fair play" Paul smirked at the older man who had a snark look on his face before continuing their walk along the pathway.

It was a nice night, the moon was full and you could hear the echo of the crickets across the lake down the small hill of grass. Through the dim streetlights you could see the silhouettes of birds floating along the lake, their wings glinting in the moonlight.

There was a silence between the two men for a couple minutes, not an awkward one - it was a comfortable one as if the both of them were just taking in the lovely moment. Suddenly Daryl's heart skipped as he felt Pauls fingers brush against his own. He looked down at their hands before looking back up at Paul who was still looking forward, a permanent smile on his lips. Their hands brushed again and Daryl's heart rate increased and he felt his face warming up. He could swear that his heart stopped for a couple seconds when he eventually found his own hand intertwining with Pauls, their fingers tangling and warmth radiating through both of their bodies as they continued walking down the sidewalk past the picture-perfect lake.

Daryl's hand was rigid at first, his fingers stuck straight as the artists soft touch created an air thick with unresolved feelings and overflowing emotions. As they continued walking the path the bikers breathing slowed, his fingers were still stiff at the dissimilar feat. Paul could tell the other man wasn't used to this sort of thing and had little to none experience as far as he knew, and he was okay with that. He just needed to know if he meant to Daryl as much as Daryl meant to him and the only way of finding out was taking that shot. So far it hadn't been rejected, so his hopes increased.

Eventually Daryl found his fingers loosening, slowly and apprehensively he fit them in between the gaps of Pauls own, entwining their hands together. They were a great fit, the artists fit into the bikers almost perfectly due to the slight size difference; his hands were slightly smaller but his fingers were long and laced through Daryl's enough so he could rest them above his often cut knuckles. Paul had noticed Daryl was often covered in cuts and bruises, he didn't want to ask where they came from but he was curious. He just presumed the ones on his hands were that of working on vehicles and such, but the grazed skin felt slightly rough against his contrasting warm, smooth skin.

Daryl tried hard to suppress the small smile on his face, he could tell Paul was smiling too from the corner of his eye but he was too shy to mention anything about what was happening - he felt as if he didn't need to anyway, it just felt right what they were doing.

* * *

 

Soon enough they were back in the parking lot of the art museum, standing outside Pauls car. Their fingers gradually came away from each other as they stopped holding hands. The whole way back had been silent bliss, neither of them breaking it despite the strong feelings each of them were feeling, constricted in their chest.

"Was that okay?" Paul finally broke the silence, looking up at Daryl.

Daryl shyly nodded his head in return, letting the smile on his face be seen by the artist without lifting his eyes from the ground. Paul couldn't help but grin at the older man fondly and let out a short exhale through his nose.

"Thank you. For tonight, for everything. It means the world" Paul outstretched his hand and rubbed Daryl's arm before letting it fall back to his side again.

Daryl then lifted his head to look at Paul, his blues glimmering in the light of the moon. For a moment he felt like he did when Paul had tried to kiss him, like it was going to happen again - this time he thought that he wouldn't push away. But it didn't happen this time.

"Goodnight, I'll speak to you about the painting soon okay?" Paul said before stepping into his car, giving a soft wave to Daryl. Daryl smiled in return before heading his own way back to his motorcycle, a warm smile on his face as the butterflies in his stomach slowly drifted away, leaving him with a feeling of satisfaction and general happiness. 

Maybe the "hipster" that called himself Jesus wasn't so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm updating it a day earlier than usual as I have mock exams these next two weeks and need time to revise!
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos as usual and we can always talk on tumblr (yikespinkman) and twitter (yikesrovia) :)


	14. Chapter 14

The next two weeks had been a whirlwind, Daryl and Paul had both been too busy with work and other such things to meet up. They'd met up once for lunch over the two weeks as it was coming to the holiday season and the work for the both of them had piled up more and more over the days so they hadn't been able to catch up. They'd both planned to meet up three weekends before Christmas as they managed to find a free space to fit both their busy schedules.

Daryl had had a lot to think about since the night of Pauls art show. He wasn't sure where he and Paul stood on relationship terms. He didn't think they were _boyfriends_  but they were definitely more than friends if anything. He didn't know if they were dating, if they were then Daryl felt he was doing a terrible job as their main source of communication the past weeks had been through text. Daryl just knew that when they held hands he was sure Paul was planning on initiating something more serious in the future, to which Daryl wanted too - he just wasn't sure how to express that.

Daryl was excited to see him nevertheless. Daryl had invited him to his place since he's never been before, he was quite nervous as he never usually had anyone round at his house unless Rick and Glenn turned up (often uninvited but Daryl didn't mind). He tidied the whole house making sure no miscellaneous items of clothing were scattered on the floor, empty takeout food boxes were removed from every surface and he masked the distinctive stench of each room with some Febreeze air freshening spray. He'd never taken this many precautions before letting someone into his house before, he just didn't want to deter Paul as his apartment was so clean and fresh looking compared to Daryl's messy living quarters.

Paul had worked out a cost for the painting he was selling to Daryl and so was taking it with him to finally settle the deal. Daryl had decided exactly where he was putting it - a space between the doors to the spare room and his bedroom in the hallway had a blank wall which it would fit just perfectly. Once the biker had tidied the whole house and dressed himself a little nicer than usual - a black button down and a pair of jeans which didn't possess holes in them, all he had left to do was wait.

Eventually Paul turned up - 10 minutes late but better late than never. Daryl rushed to the door and opened it to reveal a grinning Paul, painting under his arm wearing an off-White woollen sweater, black skinny jeans and his round rimmed glasses.

"Nice to finally see you again Mr Dixon, may I come in?" The artist cheekily smiled at the man in front of him, using a faux posh accent.

Daryl scoffed and held open the door with his back, extending his arm directing Paul into his house. He was a little surprised when the younger man reached up to his face and pecked him on the cheek, making him burn bright red and freeze in disbelief. Paul didn't even make anything of it and just walked right into the lounge, slumping onto the sofa and letting out a sigh as he left Daryl still standing rigid in the doorway, blush still relentlessly present on his cheeks. Pauls lips felt soft and sweet against his left cheek, Daryl could still feel it lingering as he was relieved of his trance and joined him on the couch.

"So, where you putting this thing?" Paul asked as he pointed at his painting which he had leaned carefully against the coffee table.

"Got a spot in the hallway, you gonna help put it up?" Daryl drawled, sitting back up from the couch after just sitting down and stretching his arms in front of him, cracking his fingers.

Paul grimaced at the sounds and screwed up his face before slowly standing up and nodding towards Daryl, following him out the room. Daryl brought him to the hall and showed him where he wanted to present his artwork before going to get a toolbox from one of the cupboards in the spare room. He came back with a hammer and some nails in hand and a pencil in his shirt pocket. Paul outstretched his arms as far as he could to hold up the painting on the wall whilst Daryl got an idea where he needed to place the nails.

"Can you put it a lil' higher?" Daryl asked as he stood back from the wall to observe where exactly he wanted the canvas placed.

Paul stretched a little higher, now on his tiptoes as Daryl rubbed the scruff on his chin before walking towards Paul and reaching up and making a mark wth the pencil where the nails should be to hang up the painting. He snickered as he saw Paul starting to struggle holding up the canvas on his tiptoes.

"You can put it down bitesize, I got the marks down" Daryl smirked as he looked down at Paul who looked rather exasperated.

"Bitesize?" Paul looked up at him, one eyebrow raised and an unimpressed look upon his face.

"Yer small" Daryl guffawed, looking back to the wall and beginning to hammer the first nail into the the smooth surface.

"I'm not that small, I'm like half a rulers length shorter than you" Paul scowled and let his lips form into a pout as Daryl lightly mocked him.

"Still bitesize" Daryl side-eyed before hitting the last nail on the head and knocking it into the surface of his hallway wall.

"Still kicked your ass" Paul mumbled under his breath before folding his arms and letting a small smirk bite at his lips.

Daryl let out a sharp exhale and leered before asking Paul to hand him up the canvas, then carefully placing it so it was balancing on the newly present nails. Once he hung it up he also took a step back and folded his arms, admiring their teamwork.

"Not too shabby" Paul turned and looked at Daryl, extending his hand towards him with his palm facing upwards.

Daryl was unsure of how Paul wanted him to react and he hesitated before he slapped his own palm onto Pauls, grasping on to his hand before abruptly letting go and awkwardly shoving the hand into the back pocket of his jeans. Paul gave a sympathetic look towards the overtly baffled man and couldn't help but let out a small giggle at his general klutziness. Daryl shot a brief glare at the artist before heading back to the lounge.

"So, am I getting a house tour?" Paul piped up to which Daryl swiftly turned on his feet, fumbling a little before finding a reply.

"Uh... Yeah sure." He said, then as if he was an air hostess began pointing his fingers in different directions "Bathrooms down the hall to the left, bedrooms down there too, spare room and office to the right, kitchens through here" the biker directed giving a nonchalant expression towards Paul.

"Wow. Insightful, really detailed, I love how you managed to give me a whole tour of your house within five seconds" The artist retorted, poker face in an overtly sarcastic tone.

"Fine" Daryl grumbled, brushing past Paul in defeat and leading him down the hall to the rest of the rooms in his bungalow.

Paul smirked in satisfaction as he followed the man out of the room and down the hall to the first room - the office. Daryl opened the door and let Paul inside and stayed leaning in the doorway. There was a desk with an office chair tucked underneath it and the rest of the room was piled with cardboard boxes of which on top of one rest a record player, a box next to it was filled with old vinyl records. From what Paul could see they were mostly rock and indie genre to his pleasure - him and Daryl hadn't really talked about their taste in music before.

On the desk lay scatters of photographs, a pile of notepads and an empty coffee mug filled with pens and pencils. Daryl began to get shifty when Paul approached the photos and picked one up and started examining it with a look of focus on his face.

"Did you take all these?" Paul asked, eyes still on the photograph - the one of the flame azaleas which Daryl had taken a couple weeks back.

"Uh... Yeah" Daryl mumbled, clasping his hands together and tracing his fingers across his knuckles.

"These are... Really good Daryl. Like really good you should sell them"

"Hmm" Daryl hummed, looking down at his feet.

"Really, people would buy these. You said this was just a hobby right? No class, nothing?"

"Yeah, just, mom liked it, gave the camera to me" Daryl felt a hitch in his voice as he mentioned his late mother.

"I'm impressed, you should look into it. Everyones usually up for making a little extra cash" Paul finally looked up from the pile of photos he was flicking through, some of which were the ones Daryl had secretly taken of his friends (mostly Glenn) to try and capture candid moments.

Thankfully Paul didn't mention anything about them until he began to grin when he flicked to the last couple of photos in the pile.

"How did I not see you take these?" The artist pondered as he stared endearingly at the pictures in front of him, all of which were of himself.

Daryl's face turned ruby as he watched his friend swipe through the creeper shots he'd taken of him whilst he was unaware.

"Before you defend yourself, I guess this makes us equal." Paul interrupted as soon as Daryl opened his mouth to do exactly that.

"I painted you without your permission and you took photos of me so we're both as bad as each other" he then looked up and smiled at Daryl knowingly.

Daryl, still blushing, looked down at his feet and motioned for Paul to follow him to the next room. Daryl then opened the door to the bathroom and just pointed inside.

"Ain't much to see here"

"Yeah just skip to the next room unless you want to show me how to work your shower" Paul flashed a shit-eating grin up to Daryl who in return barged into his side before swiftly leaving the doorway and heading to the bedroom.

"Bedroom, ain't that exciting. Why you wanna see all this?" Daryl screwed up his face and flailed his arms out in confusion, it seemed almost out of character for the quiet man.

Paul laughed at his motion - seeing Daryl be rather gesticulative and sarcastic was something quite rare and had only began to emerge recently since they became closer. Paul had started to notice the older mans rather satirical humour and quick wits the more he got to know him, it was very specific and Paul had never appreciated how quite humorous he was until recently.

"I'm just curious. I showed you mine you'll show me yours right?" Paul smirked back at him, his mind was itching to make a _"that's what she said joke"_ to quote the Office as now Daryl had watched the show he would understand the reference. The photographer narrowed his eyes at Paul trying to decipher his innuendo before grunting and punching him in the arm after his brain clicked.

Paul looked around at the bedroom and his eyes were immediately drawn to the crossbow on the wall as he recalled Daryl mentioning his hunting hobby in the past.

"You should teach me how to shoot some day, improve my chances of winning at the carnival games" Paul smiled at Daryl before reverting his eyes to the corner of the floor where there was a pile of disheveled clothes.

"I woulda tidied but didn't know you were gonna take a damn tour" Daryl grumbled as he noticed what the smaller man was looking at.

"It's a pile of clothes, you find them in every household" Paul chuckled at Daryl's slight embarrassment before heading out the room.

"Spare rooms here" Daryl said before heading out the hall and to the only door they hadn't opened.

Paul entered the room which contained a bookshelf which surprised him - he didn't take Daryl as the type to read a lot of books but the shelves were pretty full. In the corner of the room was also worn couch which was only a couple inches from the ground and to its left was a sunk-in bean bag. What caught Pauls attention was the guitar sitting on the stand next to the bookshelf.

"You play?" He asked, a glint in his eyes as he walked over to the guitar and grabbed the neck before looking at Daryl for permission to take it from the stand. Daryl shook his head and slumped on to the beanbag before replying,

"nah, brother did. It's his"

"Does... Does he still live here?" Paul hesitated as he asked the questions, he still didn't know much of anything about Daryl's family life.

"Uh... Nah, he died a couple years back. Me an' him were left the place after Ma and Pa died though." Daryl mumbled fumbling with his hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Paul replied quietly wishing he hadn't asked the question.

He had wondered where Daryl's family were - it had never struck him that he didn't have any. But it then became clear as to why he spent a lot of his time with Rick and Glenn and their families as they treated him as their own.

"Do you play any instruments?" The younger man then asked to swiftly change the subject.

"Uh... Kinda... Used to play piano. Always fancied learning drums though" Daryl chewed at his cheek.

"You'd be good at drums, you have the arms for it" Paul then looked up at him.

"S'that supposed to mean?" Daryl furrowed his brows as he looked down at Paul with the guitar on his lap.

"They're... Long" Paul kept his face deadpan as he mentally cursed at himself for the not so low-key comment on the older mans prominent muscles and biceps protruding in the arms of his shirt.

Daryl just screwed up his face and raised his eyebrows before lifting his thumb up to his mouth and chewing on the skin.

"So you don't play piano anymore? What stopped you?" Paul said to redeem himself of his previous comment before his blush became anymore visible.

"Had ta sell it to some pawn shop when Ma died to help pay for the house, ain't played since then. They still got it at the shop, it's been there fer years now"

"Why don't you get it back?" The younger man questioned as he began to tune the old guitar in his arms.

Daryl shrugged before going back to biting his thumb. Paul then abruptly stood up, placing the guitar back on the stand.

"Let's go get it then" he exclaimed, extending his hand out for Daryl to grab.

Daryl scoffed and shook his head lightly as he observed the other mans impulsive decision.

"I'm not kidding lets go, we can pay halves" Paul then stepped closer to Daryl and pulled him gently by his shirt.

"Can't let you do that" The biker grumbled, a look of guilt forcing itself on to his face.

"Well I'm doing it, it can be a Christmas present. Now let's go" the artist smiled willingly at Daryl before pulling his shirt more roughly so the man had no choice but to stand up and join him.

Daryl grunted as Paul grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room and to the front door. Daryl, seeing that the smaller man would not give up on his offer and continue to be stubborn took his keys from the hook next to the door and made his way outside.

"I can drive just tell me what pawn shop it is" Paul chirped as he took his car keys from his pocket, clicking them and unlocking the doors to the vehicle before hopping into the drivers side.

Daryl joined him in the car at the passenger side and stretched his seatbelt, clicking it into place before letting out a sigh. Paul turned on the ignition and began reversing out of Daryl's driveway and driving down the stretch of road shaded by dense forest. Daryl told him it was the shop "next to Arby's" as he drove along the road before turning on the radio which began playing a Christmas playlist. It was still three weeks before the holiday season but Paul sang along joyfully to _'Santa Baby'_ and _'Last Christmas'_ teasing Daryl and acting as if he was serenading him, who then just rolled his eyes at the goof yet hummed along to the songs himself.

Daryl's heart suddenly started racing once Paul parked in the lot outside the pawn shop, memories flooding back to him from when he left his mothers piano there in the first place. A feeling of nostalgia with a hint of heartbreak thrown in the midst and he was obviously in a daydream as Paul, who had gotten out the drivers seat and walked round to Daryl's side, had opened the door for him and poked his arm to bring out any movement.

"You coming or what?" Paul said as he stood back from the door to let Daryl exit the car. Daryl undid his seatbelt and heaved himself up from the car and outside to the rather chilly winter air.

He started rubbing his hands together - partly to warm them and partly because of the sudden bout of nerves that stumbled into his being. He followed Paul into the pawn shop and was blasted with the warmth of the building as he stepped in from outside. A wind chime hanging above the door tingled lightly as he and Paul walked into the small shop.

Daryl looked around at all the trinkets and what some would call garbage littered around the place, on walls, in glass cases, hangers, leaning against the wall, some just piled on the floor in a spare corner. It was a struggle to move in fear of knocking into anything, there was rarely a free space on the ground to place your feet without the constant worry of stepping on a glass sculpture or kicking over a pile of shabby looking books. It looked like not too many people came to the shops with the amount of items there were lying around and the little amount of space unoccupied, hence why Daryl's piano was still there even years after he dropped it off.

"One mans trash is another mans treasure ay?" Whispered Paul as the walked through the narrow space between two shelves cluttered with tacky models and statues of religious figures and Cupid shooting arrows with his lovestruck bow.

Paul picked up one of the models of Jesus Christ and held it up to his face and smiled at Daryl.

"Spot the difference?" He grinned at the older man holding the index-fingers-length model next to his left cheek.

Daryl's stomach filled with a flock of butterflies as the man smiled at him, lids almost closed with his size of grin, crinkles forming at the edges of his eyes and white teeth baring. He looked almost... Cute. Before Daryl could let his cheeks flush red he punched the artist in the arm lightly.

"Yeah, ones more of an ass" Daryl smirked watching Pauls grin turn into a exaggerated pout and frowning eyebrows as he placed the model back where he'd found it.

"Hey, don't say that about the Lord and saviour it's very disrespectful." Paul pointed a finger at Daryl waving it as his pout slowly turned into a cheeky smirk. 

Daryl punched him in the arm again, a little more hard this time, before walking towards the back of the shop.

 His eyes scanned the area for sight of the piano and he froze when he finally saw it; hidden in the back corner alongside an old, tattered looking briefcase and a shelf topped with books.

"There it is" Daryl almost whispered as he pointed out the instrument to the man behind him.

"Let's go get it then" Paul said as he looked over his head to see where the pawnbroker were to be found.

Paul walked over to the glass counter and rest his elbows on the surface before lifting a hand and ringing the rusted service bell lying on the glass. He waited a couple seconds, looking around the store before a rather burly looking man with a brown but greying beard and hair in a ponytail appeared at the desk. He wore rectangular framed glasses and Paul thought he looked like a character you could find on Sons of Anarchy or some other biking show that he hadn't actually watched.

"How can I help you Mr?" The man asked, in a very strong Southern accent, almost as if he was putting it on and had just watched too many Westerns in his time.

"Hi, yes, hello how much is the piano you have at the back? My friend here is set to pay back the loan on it" Paul smiled at the man, looking over his shoulder and giving a nod in Daryl's direction.

"Well it's b'in here a while now so it'll go cheaper than what ya sold it for that's fer sure. I'd say maybe $300 give or take" the man drawled, his voice was slow which only made it harder for Paul to endure another sentence without letting a giggle slip at his faux sounding accent.

"We'll take it please" Paul chirped, looking at Daryl triumphantly before pulling his wallet from the left pocket of his leather jacket whilst the bearded man made his way out from behind the counter and headed towards the old piano.

Daryl then came up next to him and placed $250 on the counter. Paul looked up at him, confusion arousing on his face before opening up his wallet and slamming $150 on the glass, looking up at Daryl - a stern look in his eyes.

"Can't let you pay all this" Daryl mumbled, pushing the dollar bills back towards Pauls wallet which he had placed on the counter.

"I said halves so we're going halves" Paul said with a sense of sincerity and Daryl could tell he was going to be stubborn and so gave up at the first opportunity and took the extra $100 back to his pocket, a feeling of guilt sinking in his stomach.

He didn't think he was worth any of that money to Paul, he was still at the age where he was paying off student loans and he had an apartment to pay for and such other things worth his while but the fact he was using some of that money on Daryl? He felt he had a lot he owed to the younger man. Daryl pouted as he watched the burly shopkeeper come back to the counter, swiping the money from its surface before Daryl was able to place his extra cash down despite Pauls stubbornness.

"We're gonna have ta take it out the back door, ain't no way I'm gettin it through here" the man said gesturing at the clutter in the midst of the floor around the shop.

"If ya help me put it in my truck out back I can follow y'all back to where ya want it. Don't think that car ya got out there is gonna be big enough" he continued pointing to Pauls sunset gold [Volkswagen Rabbit](https://goo.gl/images/BeV68L).

Daryl hated the car, it was hard to fix and harder to find parts for if it was broken - which it almost always was. Paul had called him multiple times asking him how to fix this and that and at one point when he was shaded by the open hood of the car, trying to fix something within, a wrong pipe was tampered with and black smoke puffed into his face, covering his upper body in a thin layer of dark grey dust; that was the last straw for him and he angrily threw a spanner at the side of the car which had created a dent.

Paul didn't seem to mind though, he laughed and proceeded to name it _"Daryl's Rage"_ and took a photo, then printing it out and hanging it in his office like some kind of abstract art piece for everyone to look at much to Daryl's embarrassment of his impulsive behaviour. Deep down though, he had to admit that he did have a soft spot for the old vehicle as after everything it had been through it was still going to this day, he'd never admit that to Paul though.

"That would be great thanks!" Paul smiled at the shop keeper and then proceeded to follow him out the back door where the man had already managed to push the piano outside.

Daryl then walked over and helped move the piano towards the mans pickup truck, finally lifting it into the back and heaving a sigh as he let go of the heavy instrument. He felt goosebumps as he touched the pianos wooden surface, a faint memory of his mother drifting through his mind before he and Paul headed back to the butternut Volkswagen (which the younger man had affectionately named 'Betsy'). The two men jumped in the car, Paul had a smile on his face whilst Daryl was chewing at the inside of his cheek, unsure of how he felt. Paul turned his head and looked at Daryl worryingly.

"Hey you okay?" He asked as he turned the key to the car and placed two hands on the steering wheel.

"Yeah just, you didn't have t' do all that fer me" Daryl flicked his gaze towards Pauls before returning it to his knees and shuffling his feet on the mat underneath the dashboard.

"I wanted to" the younger man replied, voice soft and genuine as he placed a hand gently on Daryl's knee, digging his fingers into the fabric of his jeans before letting go and returning his grasp to the wheel.

Daryl tensed but quickly relaxed at the touch, a pool of warmth hitting his stomach as Paul said those words. He wanted to help him, he wanted to give him something back he would've never gotten himself and had missed every day. Daryl wasn't a materialistic person and couldn't care less about what he did or didn't have but this item meant so much to him and the fact that Paul had helped him get it back and had gone out of his way to do just that then then he obviously cared about him. And that was all Daryl needed to know - that someone really did care for him.

* * *

 

"Pleasure doing business for ya gentlemen!" The bearded man shouted in his strong accent as he waved off Daryl and Paul after helping shift the piano into the house and to Daryl's spare room.

Paul returned a wave and a smile as the man drove off in his truck, leaving the two alone again. They headed back inside and straight to the piano. Daryl sat down at a stool he had placed at the instrument and swiped his hand across the keys - lightly enough so it didn't make a sound, getting rid of the dust it had collected over the years. He then leaned down and inspected the right side of the piano and huffed a small laugh as his fingers drifted across a spot on the wooden surface.

"Still there" he whispered almost as if it was to himself as he looked at something on the side of the piano. From where he was standing, Paul leaned over so he could see what Daryl had his attention on.

He squinted his eyes and strained to see without his glasses but he kneeled down and let himself get a little closer to see clearer. On the side of the piano was scrawly letter _'D.D'_ carved into the wood, alongside it was a date - _"8 July '84"_. Paul smiled as he envisioned a teen Daryl, using some sort of sharp utensil to carve his initials into the side of the piano, a peek of his tongue sticking out from his lips in concentration - the same face he wore years later. He watched Daryl fondly as he sat back up straight on the stool he was seated on and placed his hands gently on the keys of the piano, pressing the middle C key lightly, over and over until it became louder.

"So, are you gonna play me a sweet tune or not?" Paul smirked at the older man who's face began blushing at the request.

"Haven't played in years, probably shit at it now" Daryl furrowed his brows and gave an un-humorous laugh.

"Have you got any sheet music?" The artist then asked, raising his eyebrows in anticipation.

"Uh..." Daryl stuttered as he remembered the piece of music his mother had left him, "I think I got somethin', just wait a sec" he continued as he stepped up from the stool and headed to his bedroom.

He looked in the drawer beside his bed and fumbled through the random items before he found the sheet of music, a little crumpled but other than that peak condition. He then walked back into the spare room where Paul had grabbed another stool from the kitchen and was sitting next to Daryl's seat at the piano so he could watch him play.

Daryl took a seat and placed the sheet music up against the face of the piano so he could read it whilst he played. Even though he hadn't seen it in years he recognised the keys immediately and felt as if he'd still been playing all those empty years.

"Found this one" Daryl mumbled as he looked at Paul, he was actually excited to play for him and was itching to get started; something he hadn't felt in a long time. The artist leaned in and focused on the sheet of music, before letting a smile form on his face.

"I know this one" he grinned as he sat straight and attentive as he also became excited to hear his friend play. Daryl looked at his knees and smiled before taking a deep breath and settling his hands on the piano, staring at the sheet music and slowly beginning to play the melody. He played a few notes with shaky hands before taking breaths and starting over. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, inhaling strongly and giving a long exhale before he clasped his hands together and stretched them out, cracking his fingers and settling them on the keys once more.

He then finally began playing the [tune](https://youtu.be/VKBfsz3P7Us). His fingers glided steadily over the keys once he gained his confidence and his tongue stuck out in concentration as he got into the song. He only stopped to look up from the black and white keys when Paul began singing the lyrics to the tune, his voice husky yet soft and quiet, complimenting Daryl's piano.

Daryl played the last keys to the song and held them down a little longer than they were supposed to be held as he was filled with relief and pride that he'd remembered how to play after all these years. He then finally looked up at Paul who's eyes were already laying on his own, a glint shining in the dimly lit room.

There was silence other than the breaths of the two men as they just looked at each other before slowly Paul started leaning closer to Daryl, still keeping eye contact but his breath becoming deeper as the gap between their bodies became narrower. Daryl could also feel himself leaning in slowly before they were inches apart and Paul closed his eyes as Daryl could feel the heat of his breath on his face. Daryl then rest his forehead against Pauls, eyes closed and only the sound of their deep breathing echoing in the room before the younger man tilted his face slightly and connected their lips.

Pauls kiss was gently and his lips were plump and soft as he moved them against Daryl's who was nervous to make a move in fear of him doing something wrong. His face stuck still as the younger man pressed his lips against his own. The artist moved his arm up the photographers back and to his head, tangling his fingers in his dark hair as he pushed his head lightly closer to his own in attempts to encourage him. Daryl, with the encouragement, then began mimicking the motion of Pauls lips as they kissed sitting at the piano - Daryl's stomach in fits of butterflies. Their lips then parted and they kept their eyes closed for a couple more seconds, their heads still resting against each other's as their shaky breaths filled the heated room.

\------------ Paul opened his eyes, still keeping in the same position as he looked at Daryl, his eyes still closed and facing towards the shorter mans nose. His lips turned to a small smile before Daryl finally opened his eyes to make contact with Pauls.

"Was that okay?" The artist whispered as he looked into Daryl's blues, a red flush on his face. Daryl nodded his head softly to give him his answer.

It was more than okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It finally happened!!! Also I have no idea how pawnshops work and for the sake of the story lets pretend that the chances of the piano still being there after years are still fair... 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and thanks for all the kudos and comments x


	15. Chapter 15

"Do... Do ya wanna watch a movie?" Daryl stuttered his first words since parting his and Pauls lips.

His face burnt bright red as he cursed at his inexperienced self. It probably wasn't the usual response after having broken from a kiss but at that moment in time it was all Daryl could muster, he didn't even know how to react after what has just happened.   
  
Paul stifled a chuckle and looked fondly at the older man, before huffing a yes and grabbing Daryl's sweating hand and dragging him to the lounge.   
  
Daryl stumbled at Pauls abrupt action and he tripped up on a book lying on the floor, face flushing an even brighter shade and straggly dark hair falling over his eyes as the smaller man rushed him through his own house. The pair got to Daryl's lounge and slumped into the sofa next to each other, a closer proximity than they usually would've been - their legs touching and Paul's right shoulder rubbing against Daryl's.

"What are we watching?" Asked Paul, turning to face Daryl and he slipped off his shoes on to the floor - making himself very much at home.

"Dunno, whadda ya wanna watch?" Asked him in return grabbing the remote from the coffee table.

"Hmm..." Paul hummed as he scratched his beard before an idea hit him, "how about Jurassic Park? A classic right?"

"Ain't that old, saw that in the theatre when it came out" Daryl mumbled as he screwed his face up.

"I was like 10 when it was in theatres" The younger man smirked at Daryl, obviously having a little dig at the age difference between them.

It shouldn't have annoyed Daryl but it still did get a little on his nerves that there was quite the time gap between them - he didn't let Paul know that though.

He huffed and elbowed the artist in the side before tucking a loose strand of his own hair behind his ear.

"24" Daryl almost whispered as he looked down at his hands on his lap holding the remote.

Paul smiled warmly at the man. He'd learned that it really didn't take a lot for Daryl to feel embarrassed or shy and flush a bright pink. It was one of the many things that made him so endearing and only made him more attractive to Paul.

He nudged Daryl's knee with his own, "let's get it started then" he said encouraging the photographer to start their movie.

* * *

 

Three and a half movies later and the sun had set and the moon had risen, Daryl's curtains were still open as the pair hadn't moved much from the couch and the moonlight hit an empty glass on the coffee table. The light reflected on to Pauls head which was heavy against Daryl's shoulder.   
  
The younger man had fallen asleep on the biker and he wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to wake him up to move him but Daryl's whole body was rigid due to the amount of his body that was in contact with Pauls. They had literally kissed earlier but the thought of much physical contact still made Daryl feel a little uneasy as he just wasn't used to it. He'd always been one to shy away from any sort of contact due to the things that happened to him as he was growing up; they just made him fear that any contact he'd face would be the bad kind.

  
He flinched as Paul let out a sigh and a low moan and shifted his arm so it was laying across Daryl's stomach, the movement lifting up the hem of the older mans shirt to show a little of his tanned skin. The biker swallowed hard as his heart jumped at the movement, Paul was now hugging his arm around him making it even harder for him to move from the spot on the couch.

  
It wasn't that Daryl didn't want to be there - he definitely did, it was just that he was panicking a little and unsure of what he was supposed to do. He was going to ask Paul if he wanted to stay the night anyway but he guessed now the artist had made his decision beforehand as he lay passed out on Daryl's shoulder.   
  
As if Paul could feel Daryl's uncomfortableness, he unconsciously began circling his thumb on the photographers stomach whilst he was sleeping. Daryl immediately felt warmth radiate through his body and a sense of relief swept through him as he began to loosen his muscles and relaxed into the couch. His breathing rate slowed down and he closed his eyes and lolled his head back and then gently onto Pauls. He reached for the TV remote and turned off the movie that was still playing and closed his eyes again, taking in the scent of the younger mans hair as he rest the side of his head on the younger's own. Mint and Lavender; that was what he smelled of - fresh and calming.   
  
Daryl exhaled deeply and managed to lift an arm and wrap it round Pauls shoulder, gripping it lightly and bringing him closer to his own body to try create a more comfortable position. He then drifted off slowly to sleep - the best sleep he had had in a long time.

* * *

 

Daryl grunted as he jumped awake to the blurry sound of a laughter track from some sitcom playing on the TV  
  
 _Thought I turned that off?_  
  
He thought as he rubbed his eyes and straightened his vision. He then jumped awake as he realised Paul wasn't laying his head on his shoulder as he had been when he drifted off to sleep. He could smell the scent of cooking and was then greeted with the sight of Paul at his oven hobs in the open plan kitchen, frying pan in hand and a spatula in the other shuffling it around the contents of the pan.

"Sorry I shouldn't have turned the TV on, didn't want to wake you up." The younger man turned round and noticed Daryl had startled into consciousness.

"Also I'm sorry I probably should've asked before I went looking in your cupboards but breakfast is the least I could do after passing out in your house last night without permission." Paul gave a coy smile towards the older man as he flicked an omelet from the frying pan onto a plate lying on the worktop surface.

He then went to a drawer and took out a fork and knife, placing them on the plate then walking towards Daryl and extending it towards him.

"I didn't know what kind you liked so I just put some bacon and cheese in it" the man clenched his teeth in an awkward smile as Daryl took the plate, thanking him.

"Ya not getting one yerself?" Daryl then asked as he lay the plate on his lap and took the fork and knife in his hands.

"Uh... Nah, don't fancy one. Have you... Got any cereal or anything?"

"Lucky charms in the cupboard over the oven" Daryl mumbled as he shoved a fork-full of omelet in his mouth.

Paul narrowed his brows and chuckled under his breath as he turned to open the cupboard Daryl directed him to.

"What?" Daryl exclaimed, mouth full of chosen down cheese and bacon omelet.

"Nothing, it's just a kids cereal, you don't strike me as a lucky charms kinda guy." The artist smiled at the older man endearingly as he grabbed the cereal from the shelf and tipped some of the contents in a bowl already prepared on the work surface.

Daryl, cheeks full and face red scoffed before turning back to face the plate on his lap, avoiding Pauls gaze as his face burned up.

"It's not anything bad, it's cute" he heard the other mans voice come from behind him as the sound of milk pouring into the bowl of cereal was heard from the kitchen.

The biker was soon then joined by the artist back on the couch. Paul lifted his feet up and crossed his legs on the sofa, resting the bowl of cereal between them as he spooned some in his mouth. His hair was tied up into a bun but loose strands had made there way onto his face, one resting behind his round rimmed glasses.   
  
Daryl slyly watched him through his own dark hair which was permanently covering his eyes as he continued eating his omelet. He saw as Paul pursed his lips and furrowed his brows as he stared at the TV, the spoon in his hand floating still slightly apart from his mouth as he was distracted by the happenings of the show on the screen. He then slowly put the spoonful of cereal in his mouth, gradually munching it with the concentration frown still on his face and his lips still creating a little pout. Daryl noticed he had tiny droplets of milk resting on the hairs of his beard around his mouth which, however long it was always seemed to be in good condition. Daryl didn't doubt that the younger man was good at taking care of his appearance but even then he couldn't imagine taming a full on beard as well as he did, his short scruff was enough for him.   
  
Thinking of his beard he remembered the way it felt against his face the night before, it wasn't course but it wasn't soft either. It scratched against his chin but tickled his cheeks as their lips connected. It was all a blur; It had happened so abruptly that Daryl wasn't even sure that it had happened at all. He almost felt as if he'd imagined it but he knew he couldn't have, it was something he had been longing for for a long time but only realised when he got it that it was that he had been craving for so long.

  
The feeling sent him rushing into a spiral of ecstasy as it made him feel as if he was cared for (not the same way Rick or Glenn cared for him) He was longed for too, in that moment at least. He had finally found someone that wanted him back - for the time being and that was what he wanted most. He was just scared that he'd mess it up somehow and he'd end up back where he started - alone.   
  
He knew he didn't need anyone to depend on to know what he was or who he was, he knew he didn't need a relationship or someone to define him (he'd felt that for a long time) and he knew that he didn't need someone for him to find his own self worth - he'd get there himself one day. But the fact that for the first time in his life this was something he wanted, really quite took him by surprise and also scared the living shit out of him.   
  
He didn't want things to go wrong, he liked Paul, a lot. He was understanding, he knew most of Daryl's boundaries and just got him. Rick and Glenn got him, but there was something different with Paul. Maybe the fact that he looked at Daryl a certain way, different than what his friends would look at him, or he would pick up on something someone else wouldn't have, or maybe because he was single and was into men.   
  
He wasn't sure about the last part, but maybe if Glenn had been into him he would've considered taking it further than a friendship. He'd never really thought of that until now, but it made sense the more it ran through his mind. He did remember getting oddly pissed off whenever Glenn would have a PDA moment with Maggie, he'd get fidgety and ready to leave the room. He was never sure why, he thought it was just because he was a little uncomfortable with any sort of intimacy but when he thought about it maybe it was a hint of jealousy. He always got blushy and flustered around Glenn too to start with, just as he had done with Paul. He resented him at first before giving him a shot and realising he was definitely worth that shot in the long run.   
  
Daryl did remember a specific moment when he and Glenn were having a conversation on his couch one day after a few beers. Glenn had gotten into the topic of Daryl's love life - like he often did after a few beers, and had teased him a little, asking him who he liked.

"C'mon you have to like someone, anyone you'd like to be with in the world celebrity or not!" The geek had slurred after his four beers - lightweight.

Daryl had frozen and swallowed hard as his impulsive nature encouraged him to say "you", the first answer that came to his head.   
  
Glenn had tilted his head in concern, waiting for an answer as Daryl's small smile began to fade as the question burned. He'd ended up saying some random female celebrity that came to the top of his head, one of which he didn't even remember and neither did Glenn as he hadn't mentioned it ever again.   
  
So maybe he did have a crush on Glenn at one point, was that what crushes felt like? It must've been because he hadn't felt like that again until he met Paul and that lead to something more than a crush - although Daryl was unsure of what to label it as at the moment.

"I look terrible, I know, you can stop staring now" Daryl was snapped out of his trance by the artists sarcastic tone.

Daryl felt the blood rush to his cheeks as always before mumbling a response, "ya don't"

Paul raised one brow as he gently placed his now empty cereal bowl onto the coffee table and returning his gaze to Daryl.

"Look terrible" the biker continued, scratching his nose and chewing on his lip.

Pauls cheeks lifted and eyes crinkled as he bared his teeth in a smile like he'd been told the best news in the world. Daryl could also see a tint of pink appear on his cheeks.

"Thank you" the artist almost whispered before breaking his gaze with Daryl and looking at his crossed feet on the couch, wiggling his toes.

Daryl couldn't stop looking at him. It was a good thing Paul was entranced with the TV or he wouldn't have had the chance to stare at him with some other snarky comment made. Who knew an artist could be such a piece of art themselves.   
  
Daryl admired the way the sunlight came through the tilted blinds and hit his glasses rim and edge of his pointed nose, the way it also hit his long eyelashes almost touching the glass lenses giving only a silhouette. The way that one particular strand of hair always hung over his eyes even when he made much efforts to keep it in the bun; the younger man was often blowing it out his face only for it to land in the exact same spot. His dark hair also shone in the light and parts almost looked blonde in the sun, a mix of shades all over his messy bun. Daryl also looked at his full pink lips, slightly parted in his daydream - oh how Daryl wanted to kiss him again, he wasn't going to, but he wanted to.   
  
So instead, he just looked at a distance. He didn't think he'd ever be the one to make the first movie again anyway, he was too shy and his self confidence levels were still at a low despite how Paul made him feel. He looked down and fumbled with his hands.   
  
_Why does he even like someone like me?_   
  
He thought to himself. Why would someone like Paul even want to be associated with him, he didn't think anyone wanted to be associated with a Dixon let alone someone like Paul. They were such a contrast in character Daryl was still confused as to why they got along so well. Opposites attract right? But not that opposite.   
  
He was dark and covert, always keeping in the shadows to himself, didn't have a lot of friends but the ones he had he was fiercely loyal towards. Paul was outgoing and approachable, rarely the smile left his face and he just seemed so confident as he managed to keep hold of conversations with each new person he met with little difficulty. Daryl thought from what he saw Paul had a lot of friends which he was close to, he might be wrong, but it seemed that way so far.   
  
The biker huffed and chewed at his lip before turning his head back to face the other man on the couch.

"Can I take some pictures of ya?" He spluttered out rather abruptly, he hadn't planned on asking the request out loud but it had happened now.

Paul turned round swiftly to look at him, giving a soft smile.

"S'just the lighting looks nice" he continued his mumble as Paul looked him in the eyes, a glint shining in the iris'.

"I'd like that" the artist smiled back at him as Daryl hopped up from the sofa to grab his camera from his room.

He came back a minute later, strap round his neck as he pressed a button to turn on the camera resulting in a soft bleep as he screwed up his face to look at the screen in front of him, then flocking another button so he could see the screen through the viewfinder instead. He sat back down at his sunken fabric spot on the couch, adjusting his camera settings to the most appropriate for the lighting and setting.

"Just, keep doing what yer doin', don't gotta move or act like I'm here" Daryl told Paul as he raised the camera up to his eye level and screwed his left eye up to use his right to see through the view finder.

"Like this?" Paul said in monotone, barely parting his lips as he looked at the photographer from the side of his eyes.

Daryl stifled a small laugh, "don't gotta sit stock still, just act like I'm not taking photo. Don't wanna make it obvious you knew, makes the picture look better"

"It's just that I know you're taking my picture and even if I pretend that I don't, it's making me unconsciously act like I would when I knew someone was taking my picture" Paul mumbled, still barely opening his mouth in attempts not to move.

"Change the channel, put somethin' on more dramatic, get your reaction I dunno" Daryl waved out a hand and shrugged as he still kept the camera up to his face.

This encouraged a smile onto the artists face as he loosened his shoulders and looked at the table to grab the remote. Daryl managed to capture the smile, his plan had worked. He often found when he talked to people and had a conversation with them he got the most natural looking photos, little to his subjects knowledge.   
  
Paul got up Netflix on the TV and put on an episode of Black Mirror he hadn't seen yet, notorious for fucking with the viewer so he was bound to have some sort of reaction to it. Half way through the episode, and a few good photos taken, Paul decided to take a break from the rather dramatic episode and took Merles old guitar back to the space on the couch.   
  
He began to play some soft tunes, humming along to himself as he plucked gently on the strings, eyelashes fluttering in the sunlight gleaming on him through the blinds. He wasn't really playing any particular song, he was just making up as he went along making some sort of melody. Daryl wished he could do that, just pick up an instrument and start playing anything but still have it sound like you'd been practising the same song for months almost effortless.   
  
The photographer got some really nice shots with the guitar, they all seemed natural and candid - what he really liked when he was taking photos of people, which was often why he never told anyone when he took out his camera.   
  
One particular photo stood out to him, it was Paul playing guitar, looking down at the strings, his hair falling from his bun and the way the sun hit his body almost made it a silhouette. Daryl smiled as he looked at the photo, he wanted to put it on his wall it was so lovely and made him feel warm. It was like Paul in his natural habitat, all comfortable and soft in his casual clothes and big glasses.   
  
Daryl let him look through the photos, also giving him his thoughts on them, making comments on how he likes the lighting in some of the way it captured some sort of feeling. Paul felt thrilled whilst listening to him talk so passionately about the photographs he'd taken of non other than himself, he thought it was really sweet and a side of Daryl that was rare to see but he was ever so grateful he managed to bring it out of him.

* * *

 

"I'd better go, I haven't changed my clothes and I gotta feed Leo and Neville or they'll hate me" Paul huffed as he looked at his phone to read the time - 3:46pm.

The pair had finished the episode of Black Mirror and had spent the rest of their time messing with the guitar and flicking through TV shows. Paul had taught Daryl a couple chords which he was beginning to get a hang of, he promised he'd practise to try get better.   
  
The artist stood from the couch and stretched out his arms above his head, extending his whole body and standing on his tip toes. Daryl then stood up and joined him, extending his hands in front of him and cracking his knuckles making Paul since and screw his face.

"What?" The older man smirked.

"Makes me cringe" the musician clenched his teeth as he furrowed his brows at Daryl.

Daryl exhaled sharply through his nose as he kept the smirk on his face.

"Anyway, thanks for having me Dixon. I had a really nice time" Pauls joking tone became soft as he finished his sentence, flashing a coy smile at Daryl.

Daryl flushed a light pink and felt his hands become sweaty as he looked down at his shuffling feet. He was unsure of what to say as he began walking to the door to at least hold it open for his guest.   
  
Paul followed him and took his worn white Vans sneakers from the door mat, pulling them on his feet before heaving a sight and standing upright facing Daryl as he held open the front door. He then gave him a smile before wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. Daryl was startled by the action before he mimicked the smaller mans actions and wrapped his own arms around Pauls lower back, resting his face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent.  
  
Paul then loosened his arms and trailed them down Daryl's back then brought them forward to his arms, slowly letting his fingers fall down to the older mans hands, grasping them gently. He looked at Daryl with his bright ocean eyes for a few seconds before letting them close, leaning up towards the biker and planting a soft kiss on his lips. It only lasted a mere 5 seconds but Daryl's heart pounded and the heat rose to his face accompanied with the butterflies taking fits in his stomach as he felt Pauls eyelashes against his skin and their noses bumped lightly together.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" The younger man whispered as they parted lips, Daryl's eyes still closed and his breathing hitched.

He nodded gently in reply as the artist eventually let their hands fall apart, giving him a warm smile before turning and heading to his car parked on the driveway of the house. Daryl watched as Paul jumped into his car, a smile still etched onto his face whilst he buckled his seat belt and turned on the engine, eventually giving a small wave to the photographer before driving away.   
  
Daryl stood still partly dumbfounded at the past 24 hours longing after the car speeding down the shaded forest road. He slowly closed the door and went back into his house, taking a look at the digital clock he had on his kitchen island.

**4:01PM 10TH DECEMBER**

10th of December, he should really start thinking about getting Christmas gifts sorted out. That made him think, what would he get Paul for Christmas? He had chipped in with the piano for his present so he deserved something as good as that, Daryl couldn't think what though. Something to do with art maybe, he'd have to ask Glenn for advice on that. He was also kind of low on money at the moment so he knew he couldn't get something that big and he felt awful about it because Paul deserved something great but he couldn't afford to get that something especially when he had other people to buy gifts for.  
  
Maybe he'd ask Maggie or Tara for more stuff that he liked, they'd known him for a lot longer than he had so maybe they'd have a clue. He'd have to text or phone them some time. That also got him thinking, none of his friends know about him and Paul, well he didn't even know what they were anymore; dating? Boyfriends? He thought boyfriends kind of sounded childish and dumb but they were more than friends that's all he knew.   
  
He didn't know if he wanted to tell his friends anyway. He knew they would probably be supportive and forever lovely about it but he couldn't help but feel the pit of nerves in his stomach make an almighty leap as he thought of the endless possibilities that could happen. Telling them also meant it was more likely for other people other than them to find out, one slip up and the whole neighbourhood could know and he knew he didn't want that - not right now.   
  
He also had to consider how Paul felt, he knew he would probably have no worries about telling people but he knew he'd always ask Daryl first, despite that he didn't want him to feel as if he was trapped as he couldn't tell people he was in a relationship or not. They'd have to work it out between them. He also wanted to know what they were to each other before they even started telling others since at the moment he was almost clueless, showcasing his little experience in the field of romance and relationships.

* * *

 

Daryl went to bed that night just after 11, he had work in the morning and had texted Paul asking if he wanted to meet up for lunch if he was working, to which the artist replied asking if he'd like to go to somewhere different than their usual placing at 'the Alexandria'. The pair organised a time and place to meet before Daryl lay his head down on his pillow heaving a sigh and reminiscing the past day, thinking of all the answers he needed from Paul, the ones he was too shy to ask.   
  
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before dozing off, thinking of the handsome artist playing a soft tune on his guitar, the sun highlighting all of the features on him which Daryl liked the most. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a whole lot of rambling which wasn't my intention, but would've been too long if I continued with the plot I had planned... whoops
> 
> also this is something like the picture Daryl took of Paul https://t.co/LahQBjkNF0 
> 
> thank you as always!


	16. Chapter 16

"I would normally go for the Thai green curry but this time I went for the red instead and it was a good choice thankfully. I do like my spicy foods" Paul gesticulated with his phone in one hand, waving his arms out as he acted out his words whilst they walked alongside the river.

Daryl wasn't sure how the topic of conversation got onto their favourite take out meals but at least it was something they could have a mutual agreement on.

He had his hands shoved in his pockets of his leather jacket as the now Winter air nipped at his exposed skin. Paul had advised him to wear gloves, hat and scarf to which Daryl pushed aside telling him he wouldn't need them, it was Georgia after all. He regretted the statement afterwards, it didn't snow every year in Georgia but it did get some frosty days and this year the weather forecasts were predicting some snowfall.

"So, what are you getting me for Christmas?" Paul flashed a cheeky grin at Daryl as he pulled his grey beanie further down his head.

"Surprise" Daryl lied.

He didn't have the slightest clue on what he was getting him as of yet but he didn't need to know that of course unless the end result was him left with no present.

"I'm kidding you know, you don't have to get me anything" the younger man smiled up at Daryl warmly, he really wasn't kidding and you could tell by the genuine look on his face.

"Instead of a present, bring me your presence" Paul humorously cocked one eyebrow and spread out his arms, tilting his head to the side as he presented his bad play on words.

Daryl scoffed and lightly knocked his shoulder against his own, bidding a light chuckle from the artist.

"Really though, do you have anywhere you need to be for Christmas?" His tone changed to that of a more sincere one as he looked Daryl in the eyes.

"Hm... Nah, Christmas ain't really my thing" he grumbled as he watched his feet kick a rogue stone along the pathway.

Daryl had always wanted to enjoy Christmas, he just couldn't with all the emotional baggage it gifted him each year. It was all about family; of which he had none, presents; of which he had never received, and love; of which he had never felt.

Mom and Dad were never the richest parents, dad spent all the money on alcohol and drugs but mom always tried her best to make do with what she had to give something back to him and Merle when they were kids. They'd only ever spent it with their immediate family, Uncles, Aunts, cousins were never there as nobody wanted to come visit. Nobody cared for them anymore ever since Will Dixon turned into the drunken abusive slob he had always been, but had only just hidden it more dextrously in his youth.

Daryl wished he could be moved with his Aunt El and Uncle J when he had the chance. They'd offered him a place to stay once they found out of his fathers wrongdoings, to which he refused because he didn't want to leave Merle there too. He regretted it after once they moved to a new state and Merle not so long after fucked off anyway leaving he and Mom to clean up after Dads messes he made.

The past couple years Daryl had spent Christmas alone or had gone over to Rick's where he was always welcome. Daryl had met both Rick and Michonnes families at the holiday celebrations He'd attempted over the years. Rick had a younger brother, Jeff and a Dad who he'd met at Christmas - their mom had past away so the boys were left to care for eachother and that the most certainly did. Daryl envied their relationship and couldn't help but compare their relationship to his own family's. Rick's dad was loving and proud, something his own father could never be. Rick and Jeff were there for one another always, despite living far apart and not seeing eachother often whereas Daryl and Merle spent a lot of time with one another and Daryl knew that Merle did care for him but it was a tough love - not the kind that Daryl needed.

Michonne had a mother, brother and sister all of whom were loving and loud, always radiating joy wherever they went. There were always laughs when they were around and they couldn't have made anyone feel so more welcome in their presence. Michonnes mother also had a soft spot for Daryl, always asking where he was if he wasn't at the family get togethers and checking in to see how he was doing.

"She's always been the best at telling the good from the bad"

Michonne had told him one time after her mom had postponed their conversation to go to the bathroom, his friend gave him one of her warm and honest smiles and pat his knee before joining the rest of the guests.

The words had stuck with him, he was glad that someone saw him as good, an almost stranger at that. She always seemed to give him advice that would come in useful and she just seemed like a very insightful and wonderful woman. She was a single parent, he always appreciated them and the work they put in to make their children's lives the greatest they could be and raise them to become decent humans, she had done that and then some with Michonne and her siblings. They were all incredible clever, charming and open minded.

* * *

"You know you're welcome to come to mine" Paul bargained and Daryl was cut from his reminiscing.

Daryl turned his head round, looking down at the man who had his ocean eyes set on his own, a feeling of concern glossed over them. The biker then shifted his gaze back down towards the earth beneath him and kicking some loose gravel with his worn, leather boots.

"I want you to" the artist then elaborated, his voice became more quiet than its usual tone as if he was almost reluctant to say the words in fears of what the reply may or may not be.

Daryl then looked back at Paul, flashing him his small smile which tilted up to his left cheek and lightly nodding his head,

"I'd like that" he then gave an audible reply to which the younger man released a sigh before giving a closed lip grin.

The pair trundled along the path with their hands in pockets as they carried on their what they now made a weekly ordeal walk down the riverside. It had become one of Daryls favourite activities, it cleared his head and it was always good to get some fresh air. Also, Pauls company was another perk on the walks, some days he could talk and talk til the cows came home and others he was silenced by his mind; he tended to overthink as Daryl had caught on to some of his traits. But whenever they were silent, it wasn't uncomfortable - it just felt infallible.

It was daytime as they walked and Paul wanted to hold Daryls hand but he knew he shouldn't, the man wasn't going to be comfortable with that - not yet. He understood that Daryl hadn't figured out his sexuality yet and he was entitled to when he wanted to show everyone that. It had been okay when they'd done it the night of the art show, it was dark and late and nobody was around.

He wanted to ask Daryl if he could be his boyfriend but he thought they'd maybe surpassed that label by now before it was a motive. They hadn't kissed again since the artist left Daryls house the other week but the younger man wanted to make sure that nothing with the guarded figure was rushed so he had a chance to figure out his feelings first.

Paul was scared, he wanted to be with Daryl and he knew that for certain but he wasn't sure if Daryl would decide he wanted to be with him or not; so far it seemed the positive, but there was always the voice in the back of the younger mans head telling him it would all end sooner or later when he realises this wasn't what he desired.

Paul had slowly fallen in love with him without the initial intention, stumbling deeper into the hole with each glint of an eye and graze of bare skin, each soft chuckle and that smile - the one that settled upon the left side of his face. Gosh he was captivating, the gruff biker with the shaggy dark hair and cuts and bruises littering his arms, a face with a permanent growl. But underneath that dark exterior was someone of the complete contrary; a sweet, shy, thoughtful and clever man who had been through too much in life yet still soldiered on despite what hurricanes hindered his way. He was so endearing but yet to realise. He shunned away strangers but the ones that were patient enough to break through the walls of his fear and self consciousness and show him comfort were forever by his side, always gravitating towards him even whilst he still felt like an outcast among them.

Paul pursed his lips as his thoughts toppled over one another in his mind, he pulled his beanie further down his head to prevent the chill catching his ears and let out a sigh before whistling a happy melody to contrast with his pessimistic outlook.

* * *

5 days before Christmas. Daryl was still yet to purchase a gift for Paul as the day grew nearer and last minute shoppers grew frantic in their attempts to find presents for their loved ones. Daryl had still not much of an idea on what to get the artist, he could get him art supplies but that would be difficult considering he worked in the art supply shop, also he didn't know where to begin on that front.

So he'd gone to Glenn and Maggies for advice, he found himself slumped on a beanbag on the floor in Glenns office as he sat at the desk editing his comic book script on the computer. He had his geeky glasses on and his hair was wavy and a strand hung over his face ridden with concentration, but very expressive as he talked - eyes still glued to the screen. Daryls main goal was to talk to Maggie, she knew Paul best out of the pair but he'd chosen the wrong time to come as she was out with Sasha at the mall joining the rest of the frenzied shoppers.

"Daryl you're the one that's been going to lunch with him every time you're at work what have you been talking about if you don't know anything that would grab his interest?" Glenn criticised as he furiously backspaced on his current document.

"You'd be better asking Maggie" he continued as he cut his gaze from the computer screen to meet Daryls eyes.

"That's who I came for to start with" The biker argued as he crossed his hands behind his head and shifted further down the bean bag.

Glenn scoffed before scrolling his mouse down the screen, clicking on a wedge of text before beginning to type again.

"Well... He likes music, rock, indie, whatever. Why don't you get him some CDs or something? Or you could burn your own disc so you can choose the songs?" The geek suggested, raising his eyebrows in anticipation of Daryls reply.

"Hmm, dunno how to do that" he grumbled back as he fumbled with his hands on his lap.

"I can show you, it's pretty easy. Then you can do it at home, I gotta couple blank discs you can use" Glenn looked at the biker before opening a drawer below the desk and pulling out a case of CDs.

He grabbed one and put it in the disc holder which swallowed it and began whirring as it recognised the hardware. Glenn then showed Daryl how to burn songs onto the disc and making sure he remembered the steps so he could put them to use once he got back home.

After the tutorial Glenn travelled to the front door to see his friend off, he'd given Daryl almost a knowing smile when he's mentioned where he was going for Christmas, yet didn't mention anything that was so obviously set on his mind.

"He's really gonna like that" Glenn reassured as he gave a soft smile and a pat on the shoulder to Daryl as he saw him out the door, wishing him a Merry Christmas just in case they weren't to see eachother before the holiday.

* * *

On his way home, Daryl ended up traveling to a small record shop in town, choosing a record player from their selection and grabbing the first vinyl he saw that he thought Paul would like - ACDC. He ought to spend some money on the man since he'd spent so much on him for the piano, he didn't think he owned a record player as he definitely hadn't seen one when he was at his apartment so it would maybe go to good use.

When he got home Daryl went straight to his computer, placing the blank CD Glenn gave him into the disk holder and sliding it into the machine. He waited for the icon to pop up on his desktop to show that it was reading and then clicked on his folders, looking through his music files to see what he could possible add - now this was the hard part. What music should he add to the playlist? Would Paul like any of it? Who knew? He had a brief idea of the genres the artist liked but from the music Daryl listened to he wasn't sure what songs would be best to fit those genres. They did have a similar taste which was good but even then, there was definitely some music he thought Paul wouldn't listen to that he did.

What if he added songs that he wanted Paul to hear, ones that meant a lot to him. Maybe that would be a better idea. Daryl wasn't best at expressing his emotions and how he felt but he believed that hearing someone's favourite songs could tell a lot about that person, maybe his way to give a heartfelt message to Paul was through the means of music. It would be a lot more easy than to have a deep conversation and would probably mean more as music was obviously highly important in the artists life.

So the biker began clicking and dragging some tracks to the blank disc, slowly decreasing its gigabyte storage till there was a heartily amount of songs on. He then burned the music onto the disk before removing it carefully from the computer and placing it on the desk in front of him. He scribbled _"FOR PAUL"_ in a sharpie pen on the face of the CD before rummaging in his desk drawer for an envelope that would fit the disk - finding one and playing the CD carefully inside before licking the strip of gum to secure it down and scrawling Pauls name on the brown paper.

He then took the envelope and brought it to the living room where the record player and vinyl were laying in the middle of his coffee table, next to a sheet of wrapping paper he'd bought at the store a couple weeks back in preparation instead of panicking last minute as he usually did on Christmas Eve. He nearly pulled the presents on top of eachother (he'd made a print of one of the photographs he'd taken of Paul and placed it in a frame so there was more to his gift) before haphazardly wrapping them, sticking tape wherever he thought was necessary - almost every gap was secured with tape to ensure that no peeking would take place. He then stuck a tag on top of the messy looking present and wrote his well wishes before placing a red bow on the surface as the cherry on top.

He leaned back to not so much as to admire but to screw his face up at the shoddy job he'd done at wrapping; at least he gave his best effort. He hummed before placing it under the non-decorated, cheap Christmas tree he'd also bought at the store, the one he'd forgotten to buy baubles for and never gotten round to it in the end so just stuck on some fairy lights he'd found and called it a day. That was the only _Christmassy_ thing he had in his house, he'd never bought any decorations as he didn't really decorate in the past because nobody was there to see it and he didn't see the point when he didn't really celebrate either.

He sighed before rubbing his eyes and slicking his hair back with his fingers before heading off to bed, feeling accomplished in some way or another and filled with a sense of relief that he no longer had to worry about Christmas presents.

* * *

Christmas came soon enough and Daryl finally found himself at Pauls door at 11am on Christmas morning, wearing his best navy button down with angel wing vest and clumsily wrapped present under his arm. Paul opened the door and took his present gratefully, placing it on a sideboard by the front door and smashed his body against Daryls in a warm hug, swaying both their bodies as one as he held on the bikers waist as if to never let go. Daryl hugged back, not as tightly but with as much fondness as he could express.

A Merry Christmas was wished upon the older man before came his first gift of the day; a soft kiss on the lips and fingers gently caressing his newly washed hair bringing a blush to his cheeks and a flustered pair of arms struggling to decide on what position to take on the artists body, eventually settling themselves - one tucking itself under his arm pit and hand grasping his shoulder and the other hand placed gently on the small of his back.

Paul then took Daryls hand and his gift in the other and dragged the man inside his apartment which smelled of cooking and various range of candle scents. There was a human sized tree in the corner of the living room, decorated in a rainbow of baubles and lights, finished off with a length of silver garland. From being an artist Daryl thought it would be very aesthetically pleasing and specifically decorated, but Pauls tree seemed to be very haphazardly put together, with no noticeable pattern or pre-planned layout as all the different coloured decorations were shoved on almost as if he was in a rush.

There were fairy lights lining the window by the tree in the corner and a snowglobe laying in the middle of the coffee table by a bowl of Christmas candy joined next to a plate of iced cookies. The two men sat on the couch as Daryl grabbed one of the cookies shaped like Santa Claus and decapitated it in a bite whilst Paul took his gift from the photographer onto his lap. He carefully began tearing apart Daryls shoddy wrapping skills as it would be impossible to open it neatly. The first present he took into his hands was the vinyl, below it the record player. A wide grin spread on his face as he looked up at the biker with the expression of that of a child opening their gifts from Santa Claus.

"I've always wanted a record player, how did you know?" The younger man gushed, his eyes bright and full of youth.

Daryl shrugged and gave a small smile before blushing and shifting his gaze to his fumbling hands atop his lap, brushing away the remnants of cookie on his jeans. Paul then took the framed photo in his hands, scanning over it with his ocean eyes and a satisfied smile on his lips.

He was so exquisite. His messy morning hair piled into a bun, loose strands dangling over his round framed glasses. His oversized, burgundy Christmas sweater made him look so warm and huggable even more so when he pulled the sleeves to make paws at his hands. Daryl felt lucky to be in his presence, he wasn't the exaggerated version of himself that others usually saw; the outgoing, talkative and well presented art student. Instead he was calm, relatively quiet and occasionally bashful if you caught him at the right moment. Daryl felt lucky he was the only one that seemed to see him in this light - as _himself_.

"I like this one, I can put it in my office" he smiled and placed the frame gently on to the coffee table.

He then finally picked up the envelope and carefully peeled it open, sliding out the CD from inside. He took it in his hand and looked up at Daryl willing him on to give some context to the gift.

"It's uh... CD made it myself. Put on some songs I thought ye should listen ta" Daryl muttered as he scratched the scruff on his chin, flickering his gaze between Paul and the CD in his hand.

"Let me get my laptop, wanna see what's on here" The artist smiled before standing up and rushing towards his art room, then swiftly returning with the laptop under his arm.

He placed it on his lap as he sat back down, placing the CD gently into the disk compartment and waiting for it to load up. He then clicked on the tab and played through the mix of songs, nodding his head in approval and smiling as he flicked through them before eventually getting back to the beginning and letting it play thoroughly through.

"These all sound great Daryl, you really got my music taste" he smiled fondly at the older man who was tapping his fingers on his knee waiting for Pauls outcome.

He gave a weak smile in return before taking another Christmas cookie from the plate and taking a bite into it.

"Don't fill yourself up we have dinner to eat" The artist nipped, sounding like a mother to a child.

"Also, I got you some candy. I wasn't sure why kind you liked so I kind of got s mix of everything. Felt bad not giving you anything on actual Christmas Day" he continued as he rummaged under his Christmas tree, bringing out a small basked wrapped in cellophane filled with various sweet treats and handing it to Daryl.

"Thanks... You didn't need ta" the older man mumbled as he took the basket and placed it on the table for safekeeping.

"Wanted to" Paul raised his eyebrows and gave a closed mouth grin before pushing himself from the sofa and going to check the kitchen for the food in the oven.

Daryl then took the basket from the table and back in his hands, having a look at the selection of candy he had to choose from when he opened it. He sharply exhaled through his nose and smirked when he saw a pack of Reeses peanut butter cups; reminding him of his encounter with then _Jesus_  at the supermarket. Who would've guessed that he'd end up getting as close to him as he was now.

* * *

It was now nearing 8pm and Daryl and Paul were slouched on the couch watching some randoms Christmas movie, their legs tangled together but only just their shoulders brushing against each other. Paul leaned his head back and gave a hearty laugh at a comment made on the TV, closing his eyes and letting his long lashes flutter against the lenses of his glasses. Daryl smiled at the sight, letting out a chuckle - not at the TV but at his company's reaction to it which was rather endearing.

Dinner was great, they both stuffed their faces and there was plenty leftovers so turkey sandwiches were due for lunch for the next week or so. Paul had deemed himself as "not much of a cook" but by Daryls standards he was pretty fantastic, especially cooking a three course meal all by himself - trimmings and all. It was nice, just the two of them. There never seemed to be a moment where the conversation died or there was an air of awkwardness and silence. They just seemed to be able to talk for as long as and then some, something which Daryl had never found himself able to do before.

* * *

As the night grew on their bodies shifted closer together, maybe for warmth from the cold winter air outside or maybe from comfort but either way it was enjoyable on both parts. Paul was gently resting his head upon Daryls shoulder as they watched TV much like he had at Daryls house, somewhere along the way, the artist had also grasped on to the bikers hand and kept it there, their fingers intertwined and keeping eachother warm.

They'd been silent for a while once they watched the movie, letting their breathes be the only sound of comfort between them until the credits for the film scrolled along the television and Daryl felt Paul shift his head so he was looking up at him through his squinted glasses from lying his head down.

"Daryl?" The younger piped up as he looked at the older man hiding behind his dark, straggly bangs.

Daryl hummed in response, signalling him to elaborate.

"I'd like to call you my boyfriend... Partner, whatever. Would that be okay?" Paul confessed almost in a whisper.

Daryl then leaned to the side a little so he was able to look at him. The biker held a look of apprehension in his narrow, cornflower blue eyes, his brows raised slightly in a worried look.

"We don't have to tell anyone, not til you're ready but I just want to know if you'd like that" the younger stammered as he noticed the look of panic in Daryls eyes.

Slowly, the biker nodded, look of fear turning into calmness and warmth as Paul gave him reassurance.

"Okay, at least that's over with" Paul snorted and gave a sigh of relief as his tense body returned to its previous relaxed state and setting his head back to rest on Daryls shoulder.

* * *

It came to 12am and Daryl thought he ought to be getting home. He took his hamper of candy and stood at the door as Paul came to stand next to him. The artist stood there waiting hopefully like he was expecting something to happen. Daryl narrowed his eyes as he watched the younger man who grew a smirk on his lips. Paul then lifted up his left hand and pointed upwards to which Daryls gaze followed to see a sprig of mistletoe taped above the door frame.

"Tradition right?" Paul shrugged and flashed a cheeky grin at Daryl who merely scoffed and turned on his feet, away to ditch before Paul pulled his arm and made him lean down to connect their lips.

The kiss lasted longer than their others had, lips moving in sync with eachother and hands entangling themselves in heads of hair and hands caressing jaws, deepening the kiss. When they eventually parted, heavy breaths filled the room and eyelashes glittered against Daryls cheek before another slow peck was placed on his cheekbone.

"Please stay" Paul whispered, eyes still closed and hand still caressing Daryls hair.

Daryl nodded before the artist took his hand and pulled him back into his apartment, closing the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I've actually completely finished writing this fic wooo!! So I'll be uploading two chapters today and the final two tomorrow, hope you enjoy x


	17. Chapter 17

Daryl and Paul slept in the same bed that night, giving eachother warmth but without any of their skin brushing against the others. Paul knew how Daryl felt about too much physical touch and he respected that, he just didn't want him sleeping on the pull out bed on the couch and so made it clear that he didn't intend on initiating anything else between them if they shared the same bed. And so Daryl lay on the left, knees tucked to his chest and facing outwards and Paul on the right, arms stretched out - almost touching Daryls back as he fell asleep watching the older mans figure rise and fall as he breathed.

It was probably the best Daryl had slept in a while, just the sense that someone lay next to him and even without contact could make him feel comfortable and safe made him content. It was also nice to wake up the next morning with a Paul shaped dent next to him on the mattress and the sound of the homemade CD playing quietly on the laptop coming from the kitchen, a soft voice singing along. Daryl grumbled as he rolled out of bed in the Guns 'n Roses shirt and black sweatpants which rode up his ankles as he'd borrowed them from his shorter partner. He was greeted by a cooked breakfast calling his name at the breakfast bar and Paul whistling along to a familiar tune.

That was a good day doing nothing.

* * *

It had now been two and a half months since Paul and Daryl had been _together_  and they were still keeping it under wraps. Daryl was still apprehensive about telling their friends of their relationship and Paul was finding it difficult, making up excuses and whenever anyone made a remark about the pair he retaliated always that they were "just friends" along with a coy smile. It was stressful for the both of them and work seemed to be piling up to add to it.

Since the art show, Paul had been getting quite a few commissions to do in his spare time and as it was exam period, students had been coming to the store and making requests and ordering different tools. Also because it was coming to the end of Winter, a lot of vehicles were coming into the shop to have tyres changed and weather damage repaired.

The couple had had a quiet New Years, spending time with eachother along with the rest of their motley crew at a local bar, skipping the kiss at 12am and saving it til later when they were only in eachothers company. They hadn't really had another conversation about the stance of their relationship, Paul seemed to be waiting for Daryl to break the ice and make a move on telling their friends but he was beginning to feel it would have to be him but he didn't know how to start the conversation with him.

He knew Daryl had a short temper and was very guarded and he didn't want to cause any tension between them when things had been going so great but the artist had been putting on a facade whenever he was around other people and he couldn't keep it up much longer. He hated lying, even more so to his friends and he wanted to tell people about Daryl. God he wanted to gush about how great he was and try show a side of the husky biker that others maybe hadn't seen.

In between painting and work he'd been writing more music and playing some sets at bars and lounges at the weekends open mic nights. Daryl hadn't been able to attend any of them so far but his calendar was finally free this weekend and so he made a promise to come and watch his boyfriend show off his musical talent.

* * *

Saturday came and Paul found himself having afternoon coffee at a Starbucks along with Rosita, Sasha and Tara. They were due a catch up as they hadn't had a chance to meet up in a while and their only form of communication seemed to be through calls and group texts. The girls laughed at something on Taras phone as the artist took a sip from his latte and tapped his fingers on the table, nerves slowly settling in due to the night ahead.

"You okay?" Sasha raised her brows and reached an arm across the table to rest her hand on Pauls rattling fingers.

"Yeah just... Tired and tonight obviously." The man told a white lie, he wasn't tired he was stressed out and a little agitated, but he didn't lie about the nervous part.

"You're never usually this nervous babe are you sure you're fine?" Rosita coaxed, taking a sip from her hot chocolate with wide eyes and a comforting smile.

Before Paul could confirm he was alright Tara interrupted abruptly with a cheeky grin on her face.

"It's because Daryls going ain't it?" She leered at her best friend, chin resting on her hand perched up by her elbow and wiggling her brows suggestively.

The artist tutted and rolled his eyes before taking another sip of his latte whilst shaking his head.

"I'm nervous when anyone I know comes to watch. Puts more pressure on" he explained before heaving a sigh.

"So he is going?" Sasha asked, a twitch of a smirk itching at her lips.

Paul nodded lightly before tipping his coffee cup upright to get the last drops but more so to try and mask the present blush making its way up to his cheeks.

The three girls mouthes turned into wide grins and giggles as Paul placed his cup down with a thud of the table and furrowed his brows at the trio, making most of his effort to look at least a little pissed off at the subject.

"Listen, I don't know if there's anything going on but why don't you just _ask_  him out, what's the worst he can do?" Rosita gave a shrug as she encouraged her friend - if only she knew.

"Say no? Maybe?" Paul gave an unhumorous laugh as he gave the sarcastic comment, playing along to his act he'd been keeping up for months now.

"You'll never know if you never try" Sasha gave words of wisdom to the artist as she cocked her head to the side, raising one brow and flashing a soft grin.

Tara stayed quiet, only with a slick smile on her lips, as if she knew something the others didn't. _S_ _he didn't_ , Paul hadn't told her anything but she was good at reading people and maybe did see something going on. She had eyes like a hawk and was quite threatening when it came to keeping things private, she'd always find out somehow. Yet, she knew if there was something Paul was keeping from her she wouldn't tread on ground that was there for her to be on, she kept her knowledge to herself until said secrets were spilled and she retaliated with "I knew it".

Paul watched as she flicked her tongue, trying to catch the straw in her frappucino before grasping on to it with her lips and taking a sip, eyes still fixed on the artists own as the edges of her lips turned up in a knowing grin. Paul just shook his head to the side lightly with his furrowed brows as if to signal that what she thought she knew wasn't true. Only to have her return to him a roll of her eyes and raised eyebrows in a _"really?"_ expression.

The subject was spoken of no more after that until goodbyes were exchanged as Rosita and Sasha headed home in Rosie's car, Tara opting to walk back to her apartment which was the same direction as Pauls - actually only 10 minutes away. So the friends walked side by side in silence for the first two minutes, the artists hands in his hoodie pockets and Tara swinging her arms at her sides as she whistled a song out of tune.

"You know you can tell me anything right?" Tara spoke up as she finished her tune.

"I know" replied Paul, emotionless.

"And I mean _anything_ " his friend continued as the strolled along the sidewalk.

The artist mumbled in response, looking up to the row of partly bare trees growing back new leaves after the winter had torn them off.

"So if you know that, why won't you tell me about you and Daryl?" Tara flicked her head to face Paul who only stared down at the cracked concrete slabs in front of him.

"There's nothing to tell you Tara" he replied, tone slightly sharper than usual.

"Dude, you need to stop lying to my face and I don't know why you're acting all weird about it but I know, and you know it's true so don't bother denying it" she retorted, stern voice unlike her which made Paul know that she wasn't going to let this one slide.

He gave a deep sigh as he kicked a stray stone along the pathway.

"It's just..." He exhaled through his nose before continuing, "it's just complicated" he finished as his voice grew quiet.

"Is that why you've been so..." Tara waved her arms as she tried to find the right word and grasp it from the air in front of her, "just _off_  recently?" She settled for not quite the word she was looking for but it would have to do.

"Like whenever Daryl was mentioned you used to light up, you'd be all giddy and just, I _knew_ that he meant something to you, you know? It was nice and I hadn't seen it in a long time from you. But now when he's mentioned you get all stiff and stutter-y like you can't find your words and you play it off like you're not as close as you are with him"

She took a deep breath.

"So complicated... Please don't tell me I have to kick his ass right?" She gave a small smile towards him, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"No" Paul huffed a small laugh before taking one hand from his pocket and trailing it along the smooth brick wall accompanying them by the sidewalk.

"We've been together for almost three months" he exhaled as he saw from the corner of his eyes Taras eyelids stretch upward and brows following the motion into a face of slight shock.

"We just haven't told anyone. I was okay with it at first because Daryl is just... Daryl, and I don't want to push him to do something when he's not ready. Especially when he's so guarded and just inexperienced with this stuff. But it's getting frustrating trying to keep it from our friends when I just want to tell everyone."

He chewed at his lip, a trait he had slowly adopted since his partner came along.

"I like him Tara. I like him a lot, more than anyone before and I just want to make it work you know?" He finally locked eyes with his best friend and had to swallow the lump in his throat and try suppress the weight he felt on his chest.

Tara only stared at him, seemingly lost for words as Paul poured part of his heart to her. He was usually quite closed off when it came to emotions, as much as people thought he was very open and confident just by the way he presented himself. But his whole _"Jesus"_ persona all seemed to be part of an act, an act that made people perceive him as not so much of the person he was. He was actually rather shy and kept himself to himself, he masked it by making people think they knew him by telling odd stories or facts but not necessarily disclosing much personal information. So it made people believe they knew a lot about him when in fact they only knew stories and not much about his actual personality.

He was a master at masking his feelings and the fact that he'd burst and gave in to telling Tara how he really was feeling, it took her aback as she usually had to settle with him telling her he was "fine" or nothing was bothering him.

She pursed her lips as she became very interested in the cracks on the concrete, making sure to avoid them with her feet as if she was playing a children's game. For once, she was lost for words, she hadn't really experienced having a real love life and didn't feel at a stance where she could give any advice on it as much as she'd like. Things with her and Rosita seemed to be at an everlasting stand still - both too shy to convey their feelings.

"I love him" Paul almost whispered after a few moments of silence.

"But I'm not gonna tell him that, not yet. It's just happened really quickly and I've felt it for a while, even before we were together I knew but..."

Tara knew the impact of those words on Pauls part, the last person he'd said it to was Alex. And he really believed it and he believed Alex when he returned the words even whilst he was sleeping with another guy - little to Pauls knowledge. Even when he found out about the cheating, Paul still told Tara that Alex loved him.

"He _did_ at one point"

He said, puffy red eyes and a handful of tissues as he sat on Taras bed, her arm around his shoulder and head resting on his own. She didn't have the heart to tell him that wasn't true. She couldn't tell him that Alex never loved him because it would hurt more than it did but it _was_  true.

Tara saw it, Maggie, even Pauls mom. Alex was really just there for the sex life and "token boyfriend" that everyone loved and so projected that love on to him too. He used Paul to make friends, one of those was the one he slept with. He also used him for the materialistic side. He knew that Paul was very generous and would always help him out with his "money problems".Tara and Maggie had exchanged looks when their friend had told them he'd loaned $300 to his then boyfriend to fix his car as he wasn't able to afford it at the moment. This was pretty early in the relationship too and so was raising alarms immediately.

But Paul was too good, always only seeing the nice parts of everyone and letting everyone have redemption. He'd given Alex second, third, fourth chances and still believed after all he'd put him through that at some point during their long, manipulative relationship he loved him. Tara just sighed and smiled, knowing that she could never tell him the truth or convince him otherwise.

Deep down he knew himself it wasn't true. But he lied to himself to feel some sort of worth and to feel as if he wasn't used and wasn't manipulated. He was smarter than that and he should've known so instead he pretended the words exchanged between the couple were true so it would hurt less knowing how long he believed them.

And so those three words now held more meaning than they had done before. He was almost afraid to use them again after how much it stung knowing the first time he'd ever heard them, and felt them, it turned out to all be a hoax. He didn't have commitment issues, he was just scared to fall in love with someone who didn't return the feelings. He didn't think he could handle that again despite the unfortunate experience.

The pair walked in silence for the next few minutes, leaving only the whistling of the wind and rustle of almost empty branches fill the air.

"Have you spoke to him about it? About telling people?" Tara spoke softly, almost dragging her converse shoes along the path.

"No"

"Then that's your solution to the problem" Tara gave a small laugh as she looked up at Paul.

"I don't know what to say" he replied before continuing, "I wrote a song, about him, about hiding. Im better at singing than speaking so I was gonna play it tonight. That's why I'm so nervous."

"Huh, well we'll see how it goes right? And I'm sure you'll be great. But if there's anything you need to talk to me about give me a call okay?" Tara finished before parting down a different alleyway to reach her apartment, lifting her hand in a wave as she did so.

Paul nodded as he returned the wave with a coy smile.

"I love you and I'll speak to you later" she called as she walked clumsily backwards down the alley so she could face Paul - more like the usual giddy Tara.

"Love you too" the artist returned the gesture before he walked out of view and back to his own apartment to prepare for the night ahead.

* * *

Daryl walked into the crowded bar at 8pm as he looked down at his watch. He scanned the area for a free table and seat and opted to take one in a corner which was still in view of the small stage setup at the back of the building. He sat down and ordered a drink - whiskey and coke and took a sip, waiting for Paul to take the stage.

He was excited to hear him sing, it was always calming and he had such a lovely, honey voice which seemed to fit perfectly with his appearance and persona. It was also nice to hear some of his own original songs as it was usually the words Paul found a struggle to say Daryl had noticed. They seemed quite personal and Daryl always found himself wanting to ask who or what they were about but couldn't find the words. He usually just filled in the blanks with what he already knew about the artist.

The lights dimmed a little and a spotlight hit the small stage and followed Paul holding onto the neck of his guitar as he gave a small wave before sitting on a stool next to the angled mic and giving a small introduction. He flashed a nervous smile as he noticed Daryl amongst the array of clustered tables and chairs with bodies surrounding them. Then he began singing, not one of his own songs but a cover of a _Hozier_  song which Daryl had heard playing in his car one time.

* * *

The night wore on and Paul was coming to the end of his set, Daryl was on his fourth whiskey and coke and was beginning to enter the tipsy side but was fairly enjoying himself. He didn't usually like drinking a lot and had decided he'd had enough but it made him forget about the crowd a little and settled the nerves of being in a stuffy, people filled environment.

"I've got two more songs... This ones my own it's called 'Friends'" Paul spoke through the mic and flicked his eyes at Daryl before settling his guitar on his layup and beginning to play.

Daryl listened intently as the crowd became silent and the lyrics flowed from the artists mouth like honey.

_We're not, no we're not friends, nor have we ever been._   
_We just try to keep those secrets in a lie,_   
_And if they find out, will it all go wrong?_   
_And Heaven knows, no one wants it to._

_So I could take the back road_   
_But your eyes will lead me straight back home._   
_And if you know me like I know you_   
_You should love me, you should know._

_Friends just sleep in another bed,_   
_And friends don't treat me like you do._   
_Well I know that there's a limit to everything,_   
_But my friends won't love me like you._   
_No, my friends won't love me like you._

Daryl lifted his almost empty glass to his lips and tilted upwards to reach the last drop as it landed on his tongue. The words seemed to relate to him a whole lot and he think that's why Paul wrote them in the first place. He began tapping his fingers on the table gently as to not make a noise and chewed his lip whilst jumping his leg under the table.

  
_We're not friends, we could be anything._   
_If we try to keep those secrets safe._   
_No one will find out if it all went wrong._   
_They'll never know what we've been through._

_So I could take the back road,_   
_But your eyes'll lead me straight back home._   
_And if you know me like I know you,_   
_You should love me, you should know._

_Friends just sleep in another bed,_   
_And friends don't treat me like you do._   
_Well I know that there's a limit to everything,_   
_But my friends won't love me like you._   
_No, my friends won't love me like you._

_But then again, if we're not friends,_   
_Someone else might love you too._   
_And then again, if we're not friends,_   
_There'd be nothing I could do, and that's why_

_Friends should sleep in other beds._   
_And friends shouldn't kiss me like you do._   
_And I know that there's a limit to everything._   
_But my friends won't love me like you._   
_No, my friends won't love me like you do._   
_Oh, my friends will never love me like you_

Paul ended the song with a gently strum of his guitar and looked over to Daryl with glossy eyes in the spotlight as the crowd applauded and gave a few whoops and whistles. Daryl looked back at him, almost expressionless as he breathed the lyrics into his system, analysing them and realising why Paul had chosen to sing that song on the night Daryl was there to watch.

He felt his stomach churn and a pit of guilt settled in his gut as he stood up from his table, leaving some notes in cash for his orders and brushed past the faceless bodies in the bar to make his way out. He opened the door and let it fall close behind him and held his head in his hands as he cursed under his breath before reaching in his back jean pocket for his cigarettes and lighter. He lit one up and took and inhale before puffing out clouds of smoke whilst he trudged along the sidewalk with no end goal.

He found himself at another bar almost at the other side of town and so he sat down and ordered a couple more drinks over the next hour, slowly getting himself drunk. He didn't like getting drunk because he knew he became the person he didn't want to be - his father. But he really needed a way to get his brain to turn off for a while and his only solution seemed to be alcohol. He took out his phone and placed it on the bar, reading the texts he'd gotten from his partner asking where he was - along with three missed calls. He then shoved it back in his pocket proceeding to ignore any responsibility.

He knew he had to come clean (that phrase made it as if it was something to be ashamed of?) about their relationship. He knew that but he didn't stop to think how Paul had been feeling having to lie to his friends every time he was mentioned. It was such a simple thing but for Daryl it seemed so complicated and he was scared of the consequences despite there being little to none there that were visible.

Just as he stood up to leave, there was a hand gripping on to his shoulder. Stood behind him, of all people, was Shane Walsh.

"You better move over buddy" came the gruff voice of the other man, he was taller than Daryl and slightly broader and obviously hadn't noticed who he'd just called buddy.

"hell am I movin" slurred Daryl, getting agitated at the sight of a sworn enemy.

Shane then stepped back, rubbing a hand over the back of his head as a smirk etched on to his lips and he gave a low, rather sinister sounding chuckle as he stared through the recognisable face. Daryl narrowed his eyes as his vision became slightly blurry when he felt himself unwillingly being pulled up from the bar stool by one of Shane's cronies.

"Get yer hands off me!" Daryl raged as he shook his body to rid the unwanted touch, dizziness taking over as he stumbled a little after being lifted to his feet.

"Hell you getting mad for prick? Me and my friends just need a seat together, that's all" Shane gave a shrug and cocked his head to the side in a slightly threatening manner.

Daryl felt his fists clench, he couldn't let his body take over he didn't want to become that angry, ill-minded entity again. He then felt a shove from his side as one of the former officers friends pushed into him to further him away from the stool. He growled as he swung right round and shoved back harder, making the stout, bald man stumble on his feet and back into a stool behind him.

"Hey, hey" came a voice from the other side of Daryl as the other member of Shane's posse spoke up at Daryls bout of light aggression.

Then the dizziness circling around in his brain was suddenly put on hold for a moment as he felt Shane's fist connect to his left cheek, making him a little more sober than he was before. Once he blinked a few times he hit back, throwing an uppercut into Shane's stomach before being grabbed by the arm and flung into a headlock, his stomach being beaten by the taller mans knuckles. He groaned as the feeling of nerves in his gut were pulverised and shaped into feelings of hatred and guilt and shame as memories of his father came flooding towards his head. He thought about Rick and how this man had ruined his life for quite a while, and how much it had broken him. He deserved to be punched - Daryl wasn't necessarily in the wrong but he seemed to be the one that was going to end up in the gutters. He zoned out after that almost disassociating, only faint shouts as he tasted metal in his mouth as his split lip oozed droplets of blood.

He was brought back to his teen years, they'd been particularly bad. Walking home from school with a black eye and leaving home the next morning with an added split lip and arms and back littered in blue and grey bruises. Making excuses to his teachers and saying that he'd definitely had the split lip when he'd been checked over by the nurse after his fight the previous day. That copper taste assaulting his mouth, triggering the vivid memories of the events he hadn't thought of in a long time and wasn't ready to be in that head space ever again.

* * *

When he slowly re-entered reality, he was sitting in the back of a parked ambulance getting his lip patched up, a bandage wrapped around his left hand with patches of blood on the knuckles and a stinging pain in his abdomen and right cheekbone, just below his eye. The nurse seemed to be talking to him, he wasn't cooperating as she dabbed a damp gauze swap on his right cheek where the pain seemed to be emanating from. He looked out the doors of the back of the vehicle to see the blue and red lights of a police car flaring in the dark night sky. In the headlights was Rick, in his Sheriffs uniform talking to another cop, the bartender and what looked like an ambulance worker. He waved them off before turning to see Daryl had returned from his spout of disassociation.

"All patched up, you're free to go sir" the brunette nurse spoke as she ushered Daryl from the back of the ambulance.

He stumbled before Rick grabbed his shoulder to help him stay upright. His gut was in excruciating pain as Rick helped him to his police car, arm round his shoulder. He sat him down in the passenger seat and even buckled his seatbelt for him before joining him in the vehicle behind the wheel in the drivers seat. Rick heaved a sigh as he tilted his head back and cupped his face with his hands, rubbing his eyes before setting them down on the wheel.

"What were you thinking man?" Rick asked, a tone of disappointment present in his voice.

Daryl looked down at his blood stained bandage covering his hand in his lap, not a word escaping his mouth. In all honestly - he didn't know _what_ he was thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter is quite angsty... I needed some way to get the plot running!
> 
> thanks for the comments and kudos and catch me on tumblr @yikespinkman x


	18. Chapter 18

"Daryl" Rick said again, Daryl was now unsure how many times he'd said it, he didn't really feel like he was part of reality at the minute, he felt rather floaty and disorientated.

He blinked hard when Rick snapped his fingers in front of his face in attempts so get any sort of reaction from him, looking outside the car window to see that they were outside the bikers house,

"You okay?" He asked, the sternness in his voice turned into the soft and husky caring one that Daryl was always used to.

Daryl gulped as his messy hair hid his face in the dark interior of the car, almost masking the warm trickle of tears he felt fall from his eyes and land on his hands laying on his lap. Rick then un-buckled both of their seat belts before getting out of the car and walking round to Daryls side to open the door, letting him out and taking one of his arms over his shoulders to support him. They walked up to the door of his house, Rick had a spare key and so unlocked it and brought Daryl to his bedroom where he began rummaging in drawers to find some more comfortable and clean clothes to rid him of his dirty and blood stained shirt.

The biker took a few deep breaths before finally letting go a sob catching in his throat. Rick stood up and walked over to him immediately, taking him in his arms and resting his chin on his shoulder as he rubbed his back and sway them back and forth lightly, letting Daryl sob into his shirt leaving tear stained shoulders. Rick entangled his fingers in Daryls hair as he let him drop his head further into the crook of the cops neck, just letting him release all his enclosed emotions whilst he shushed him quietly.

"Hey, it's okay. You're okay now." Rick hushed as he let his hand slowly fall down to the small of the gruff mans back before lifting his hands up to his shoulders and shaking the sobbing man gently as he let him wipe his tears away with a baggy sleeve of his shirt. Rick then rid his hands from Daryl before grabbing one of the tshirts he had taken from the drawer and placed it on the bed along with some sweatpants.

"Change into some clean clothes, you need to rest and we can talk about this tomorrow maybe. I called Paul, he's on his way. He was worried about you Daryl. He cares for you, don't push that away because you deserve it" Rick finished as he knowingly looked at Daryl, a sense of hurt in his eyes, but trying to mask is with the small smile he kept on his lips.

He knew. Daryl didn't care anymore. He didn't care anymore if anyone knew he and Paul were together and by now he was pretty sure everyone had probably already guessed if Rick knew. His words made him feel some way, he couldn't quite out his finger on it. But he knew he was cared for, by Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Paul - he was stupid for thinking otherwise and he realised that now. He only mustered a sad smile in return to Rick as he sat himself on the edge of the bed.

"I need to go back to work, put this car back and get home. You rest up okay? Call me if you need anything" Rick lay his hand on Daryls shoulder and rubbed his thumb in a clockwise motion before making his departure, through the bedroom door with a goodnight.

Daryl took a deep breath before exhaling whilst letting a groan slip and winced as his abdomen felt a strike of pain each breath he took. He then lifted his tired arms and started unbuttoning his shirt before throwing it to the ground below him. He managed to kick off his brown boots before having to take a breather, only for him to take too many breaths and begin crying again. Just letting the tears drop down in a sorrowful waterfall as the damage he'd made and taken that night settled into place in the pit of his stomach and dark corners of his mind.

_He was going to be sick._

He ran to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet, wincing in pain and still sobbing as his insides emptied their contents. When all he was spitting up was a yellow bile and alcohol mix, he came back to the bedroom and sat himself down in the same spot he was, continuing to sob before his eyes ran dry and voice was beginning to feel hoarse. He sat there, motionless, emotionless, as the weight of his actions rid him of any motivation and strength he'd had. Leaving only weak limbs and tired, puffy eyes as he sat on the edge of the bed waiting for himself to inevitably pass out due to exhaustion.

He then heard a creak of his door and light footsteps enter his room.

"Daryl?" Pauls voice merely a whisper and sounding croaky as Daryl stayed stock still.

It hit him that he was sitting, back to Paul with no shirt on - for everything to be seen. The only other person that knew of his scars was Rick (he was unsure if the man had informed Glenn or not). Rick had found out the same way, by walking into his room without warning as he'd just gotten out the shower. He's asked if it was some biking accident he hadn't told him about, an inquisitive smile on his face. It slowly faded as watched Daryls face turn stone and eyes become glossy as he came to the realisation of what the scars were from. Rick had known about the abuse Daryl had faced when he was younger, but hadn't known the extent to which is was performed. What happened after that was much like what had happened tonight, the biker had broken into his arms and all the cop could give in return was his condolences.

Daryls throat hitched as he heard the movement from behind him come to an abrupt halt, Paul noticing he'd began treading on thin ice - careful of his movements and words. Then a somber sight escaped the younger mans lips, travelling to Daryls stomach and punching him in the gut. The taste of sick lingered in his mouth as he swiped his tongue across his lips before chewing on the bottom one as he felt heat rise to his face and tears well up in the creases of his eyes.

"Was my dad" Daryl spoke, hoarse voice.

He turned his head around slightly to see Paul take a deep breath and close his eyes before opening them again only to look at the ground and exhaling. He then slowly walked over to Daryls space on the bed, sitting down softly beside him with his hands cupped together on his lap, fingers fumbling unsure of how to occupy themselves.

"I can't really say or do anything that'll change what happened or even understand how you feel, but I'm sorry you had to go through that. You didn't deserve it, nobody does... Ever" as he finished his soft words, he turned his head to look at Daryl in the eyes, his ocean iris' were also glossed over.

"Just know, this won't change how I think of you" the artist murmured, his throat was too dry for him to speak much louder.

Daryl then felt Pauls head fall onto his shoulder, gently as to not hurt him as he was unaware of which parts of his skin were hurting most after Rick had told him over the phone what had happened. Daryl then let his head rest on Pauls as they both took deep breaths. Paul then shifted his head and used his hands to twist Daryls body round a little to face him.

"I'm sorry... For tonight I shouldn't have sang that song I just didn't know the right wor-"

"Ain't your fault. I was stupid n' didn't think what ye were feeling... An' it's a good song" Daryl cut him off before he could apologise anymore.

Paul looked down and smiled little, then gently cupped the older mans jaw in his palms, using one hand to brush loose strands of dark hair behind his ear to reveal a darkening bruise on his cheek - at least he avoided a black eye. The artists eyes scanned Daryls face and grazed his thumb over the cut in his lip before apprehensively leaning in and kissing his jaw before moving his mouth to his lips and kissing him gently as to avoid hurting him.

When their lips parted Paul picked up the t-shirt that was lain on the bed by Rick and gave it to Daryl for him to throw over his head, being careful as he pulled it down his abdomen so he didn't touch any of the bruises. He then changed into his sweatpants as Paul went to the kitchen to find some pain relief meds and a cup of something warm. He trodded back with a bottle of Advil under his arm and a mug of tea in his hand. He handed it to Daryl before taking the bottle of pills and tipping two onto his hand before placing them in Daryls own to take with his hot drink. Daryl swallowed and felt the pain in his lower stomach at the gesture, the tea seemed to mask the pain a little by letting him focus on the warm liquid slowly trickling it's way down his throat.

"Are you staying?" The biker shyly asked as Paul sat on the bed next to him.

The younger man turned his head to face Daryl with a look of warmth covering his face.

"If you want me to" he replied.

Daryl nodded as he took his last sip of tea before placing it on the set of drawers by his bed.

"Ya can borrow some clothes, in that drawer" Daryl pointed to the slightly opened drawer with fabric spilling over the edges due to Rick rummaging in it earlier.

Paul then stepped over to the drawer and kneeled down, grazing his hands over the different coloured shirts and sweatpants before like a machine at an arcade he let his hand fall and grip onto a random shirt, pulling it from underneath the other clothing and placing it on the bed. It was an old _Eagles_  shirt that Daryl used to wear quite often. Paul then began unbuttoning his navy shirt and took it from his body, throwing it into the corner of the bedroom on the floor. His lightly bristled chest and only just visible abs were on show for Daryl to watch.

The older man couldn't help but gaze up and down the fit body of the younger. Before putting on the shirt, Paul began kicking off his Vans shoes before unbuttoning his black ribbed skinny jeans and rolling them down his legs. Daryl looked away for a few seconds before letting his view graze over his partners almost exposed body. He felt his face warm up as Paul turned round to catch him staring before he put the oversized t-shirt over his chest and letting an almost shy smile fall on his lips. It was unusual for him, Daryl expected him to make a snarky comment or a smirk to grow on his face but the man seemed to be nearing bashful - quite endearing.

The artist, only wearing his boxers and Daryls baggy t-shirt wandered over to the door and closed it before turning off the main light, leaving only the moonlight to shine through a slit of the slanted blinds at the window. That was Daryls cue to get in his bed so he did just that, as Paul clambered into the other side to join him under the duvet. The biker felt soft lips against his forehead before he closed his eyes and let himself drift off into dreamland.

* * *

The next morning, Daryl found his arm wrapped around Pauls waist who lay on his back whilst the older mans head rest on his chest, rising and falling with each breath he took and listening to the calming tempo of his heartbeat. Daryl breathed in and took in the scent of Paul, usually lavender and aftershave but it was quietly masked by the smell of himself who still seemed to reek of whiskey and blood and he began to feel self conscious.

Paul had his arm underneath Daryls shoulders and was limiting his movement, he guessed he'd have to wait a while til he was able to move. As if he could tell, Paul then moaned softly in his sleep and shifted his body, moving his arm from under Daryl and resting it on the pillow above his head. The biker didn't particularly want to get out from under the warm heat of the duvet covers and move his head away from the soft beating of his partners heart but he was beginning to get restless and needed to stretch his limbs.

And so he gently lifted his head from the other mans chest being careful not to stir him from his slumber and swung his legs over the side of the bed, taking a breath before pushing himself up onto his feet with a groan and wince as his stomach seared with pain. He stumbled through to the bathroom and placed his hands on the edges of the sink to keep his body upright. He looked at himself in the mirror - he looked like shit.

The bruise on his cheek was turning yellow and purple and the bags under his eyes were more dark and prominent than usual along with a slightly raised bump on his swollen lip. His hair lay strain over his face - greasy and still in bed head stance (he was sure there was some dried up blood in some parts of it). He then lifted his tshirt to reveal a large purple bruise with red blood speckles shadowing his abdomen. He closed his eyes and sighed as he dropped his shirt back and lifted his hand to unwrap the bandage on his hand to reveal bloodied and bruised knuckles. He didn't think he'd broken anything, maybe just torn a few bits and pieces but at least it was his non-dominant hand.

He turned on the faucet and washed the blood from his knuckles, leaving a pool of red and dirtied liquid to drain in the bottom of the sink, twirling in a typhoon of rouge and disappearing down the hole in the centre before it began to change into only clear liquid washing from his hand. He dried his hand with a towel before heading to the kitchen and opening one of the drawers to reveal a roll of bandage, some he'd had spare from his darker days. He wrapped some round his hand once again before taking a pair of scissors and cutting it to size and tucking the loose end in place.

Daryl then ran the tap in the kitchen sink and grabbed a glass, filling it with water and taking some gulps before a gargling a mouthful and spitting it into the sink in attempts to rid the taste of the vomit, blood and whiskey cocktail he'd been savouring in his mouth for the past couple hours. He saved some water and went back to the bedroom, grabbing the bottle of Advil and taking it back to the kitchen with him, then popping two in his mouth and swallowing them down with the remaining contents of his glass.

He slumped on to the couch and lay his head back closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. He shot them open when he heard Pauls voice calling his name from the bedroom.

"'M here" the biker shouted as loud as he could manage with his hoarse voice.

He then heard a pattering of footsteps as Paul entered the room, weary eyes and messy hair as he wore Daryls band shirt which rested just above the hem of his black boxer briefs. He yawned and stretched his arms about his head, making his tshirt rise to show his v-line and part of his abs as Daryl tried not to stare again. He then joined Daryl on the couch, slumped over with a hunched back as his elbows rest on his lower thighs.

"I have work in 30 minutes" the younger man grumbled in disdain.

"I can call off if you want me to stay? Gregory will be pissed it's so late notice but when isn't he in a shitty mood?" Paul asked an almost rhetorical question about his well renowned asshole of a boss.

"Nah, you can go. Gotta see Rick" Daryl returned, as much as he'd like him to stay all day.

"I'll meet ya at yours after? You gotta feed yer pets"

Paul smiled at the gruff mans sweet comment, seemingly more bothered Paul had stayed with him over the fact he wasn't there for his pets. He nodded before standing up and heading back to the bedroom.

He came out not fifteen minutes later fully dressed in his day before clothes with his hair in a bun. He lightly stepped over to Daryl, leaning down and chastily kissing his lips while he used a hand to cup his jaw. He gave a soft smile as he unwillingly pulled his hand from Daryls scruff covered chin.

"See you soon" he almost whispered as he then pecked the biker on his forehead before turning on his feet and heading out the door of the house as Daryl watched after him.

He felt lucky.

* * *

Before Daryl headed to Rick's he wanted to see Glenn. He was in desperate need of some cheering up and Glenn seemed to be the go to person for that requirement. He was also planning to tell him about Paul - if he didn't already know.

He was greeted at the door with a shocked look before being hurdled into Glenns arms in a tight hug as the shorter man sway their bodies together and settled his face into the nook of Daryls neck.

"Rick told me what happened" he whispered in the bikers ear as they embraced eachother.

Glenn then took Daryl into the house who was soon then in Maggies arms as she muttered some threats under her breath towards the men whom had hurt him. The geek then took Daryl into the living room and sat him down on the couch as Maggie went to make him a hot drink in the kitchen.

"Whats he even doing here? He hasn't lived here for years and just shows up out the blue" Glenn complained as he sat across from Daryl, trying to make some sort of light to the situation as he always did with his optimistic outlook.

Maggie joined them as she handed Daryl a cup of coffee and sat beside Glenn, squished together in the couch originally meant for one person. They asked a few questions before then getting on to subjects other than last nights events. Eventually the conversation came to a stand still and Daryl took a deep breath and gulped before speaking up.

"Yeah uh.... Me... Me an' Paul, we're-" Daryl stopped in his tracks as he looked up from his fumbling fingers to see Glenn and Maggie, wide, knowing grins spread across their faces.

He couldn't help but give a shy smile himself whilst he chewed at the inside of his cheek as he saw how happy that sentence had made two of the most important people to him react.

"How long?" The farmers daughter inquired as she leaned in closer to hear the answer."

"Uh... B'in dating about four months... together almost three - two and a half maybe."

"All that time?!" gasped Glenn as his mouth turned into a lop-sided grin as he huffed in disbelief that it had been that long.

Daryl gave a small, introverted nod before he looked at his foot which was tapping on the floor.

"I'm happy for you man" Glenn reached over and slapped the bikers knee as he flashed him a warm grin.

"I'm glad Jesus has finally found someone that'll treat him the way he deserves, and he damn well better treat you right back" Maggie gave a cheeky smile as she waggled a finger at Daryl, making him laugh a little.

There was then a knock on the door before the sound of it opening as Rick appearing in the doorway of the living room.

"Your bike wasn't outside your house, thought my best bet was here" The officer exclaimed as he came in and sat down next to Daryl.

"Was at the station and the verdict's that you can press charges against him. He stayed in a cell overnight. We just need a call from you. We have witnesses and your hit was self defence" he explained to Daryl.

"Don't want none of that dicks money" The biker drawled as he looked at Rick briefly in the eyes before turning his focus back on his tapping foot.

"There aren't many other options D, you can get a restraining order or him and his friends can do a couple weeks of community service if you don't choose yourself."

"I don't care what the hell he does, just don't wanna see that prick. After what he did to you, Carl" Daryls voice was gruff but became quiet at he finished his sentence, speaking of a sensitive time in his friends life.

"I appreciate it but, he's not worth you gettin' hurt" Rick locked eyes with Daryl as he knitted his brows together.

"Wouldn't 'ave done it if I weren't drunk" The biker felt slightly embarrassed by his altercation.

"If it means anything Daryl I would've stepped in and joined you" Glenn piped in, putting some light on the topic as he gave a smile and tilted his head towards Daryl.

"You wouldn't 'ave been much help" Daryl smirked back at the Korean as he watched his grin turn into a unamused pout.

Maggie couldn't help but let out the chuckle she was keeping to herself, earning an exaggerated glare from her husband in the process. Rick gave a smile too before returning to the topic.

"Fine, we'll do the latter, hope he likes cleaning up trash and gardening because he'll be doing it a lot the next few weeks." The officer smirked as he slapped Daryls knee, prompting a smirk from the biker now that the conversation wasn't as serious as it had previously been.

"Anyone for a game of table tennis?" Asked Glenn as he stood up from his spot on the couch next to Maggie, extending his arms in a welcoming gesture.

* * *

Daryl had stayed at Glenns a couple hours longer than he intended as he and Rick had some intense competitive tendencies when it came to table tennis. Daryl won 3 games whilst Rick won four - Daryl had blamed his loss on the sound of Glenns reactions every time the ball was hit to each side of the table, _"ohs"_ and _"aahs"_ every time they hit the ball was quite distracting.

He didn't end up getting round to Pauls until around 7.00pm where he was greeted with dinner on a plate, waiting for him at the table. A pasta dish with chicken and pesto and was actually quite good on Pauls cooking standards which generally weren't up to par.

Paul had at one point brought out his sketchpad and began sketching Daryl as he watched TV on the couch, a funny scene as Neville was sitting content on his shoulder - he'd grown fond of the man. Daryl had slowly become Pauls muse, he seemed to be drawing him more often than not. He had always been into drawing humans and it just so happened that Daryl seemed to be the one he drew the most. He didn't meet a reference photo and so wherever he was he could make a piece of art of the thing he loved most in the world to the little of the older mans knowledge.

Paul had also become subject to Daryl taking many a photo of him, he'd even taken some Polaroids and the artist had noticed that he'd used a magnet to stick some on his fridge, very endearing. Also he'd stuck a drawing Paul had done at his house one time on the fridge like a proud parent would do for their child. Paul always laughed because it was only a shitty sketch in his eyes (a drawing of a tiger he'd done whilst watching _A_ _nimal Planet_ ), but Daryl still kept it hanging nevertheless.

Paul had also brought out his guitar and started to sing some songs as Daryl lay on the couch, his feet entangled in Pauls crossed legs as he strummed on the acoustic whilst humming some Bon Iver. The biker lay his head back on the couch and closed his eyes as Pauls honeyed tone echoed throughout his mind, making him feel calm.

As the night grew to a close the two men headed for bed, Paul got changed first as Daryl brushed his teeth in the bathroom before coming out and trying to gently remove his shirt. Paul looked on with sad eyes as he noticed how bruised up Daryls skin on his abdomen and chest was, all yellows and blues and hues of purple.

"Let me help" the younger man said as he stepped over towards Daryl and took the fabric of the tshirt in his hands and gently pulled them over Daryls biceps and forearms.

"Thank you" the older man whispered in return without making any eye contact as he sat down on the bed and stared at the wall in front of him, beginning to feel tears well up in his eyes for whatever reason.

He just thought things were catching up on him and he was tired and still upset and in physical pain and everything seemed to be spinning around him. Paul seemed to notice there was something wrong and sat down beside him, laying his hand on his thigh and squeezing before returning it to his lap.

"Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic" he whispered as he looked down at his hands, fumbling his fingers together on his lap.

Daryl turned his head up slightly to look at the man, his bangs hanging over his narrow eyes. Paul sensed the movement and mirrored the act so his eyes were on Daryl's.

"Oscar Wilde, it's from a book he wrote. I guess... I guess I've always kind of believed it, and this is one of the reasons as to why" His voice became a mumble as he finished his sentence returning his gaze back down to his lap, exhaling as a sad smile poked at his cheeks.

Daryl sniffed and pulled the sleeve of his sweater over his left hand, then using it to wipe away a stray tear that was conjuring up in the corner of his eye.

"M'sorry" the biker finally whispered, not daring to look into Pauls eyes.

The artist swiftly looked up at him, a concerned and confused expression plastered to his face.

"M' sorry fer fighting, sorry fer not telling ya or gettin' in touch, sorry fer not being good at this relationship shit... And m' sorry ye had to fall fer me. Don't think anyone's made that mistake before, usually scare 'em all off" Daryl's voice cracked at the last part as his throat became dry and scratchy but he still managed to give an unhumorous laugh at his self depreciating joke.

The older man flinched when Paul flung his arms round his shoulders, burrowing his face into his collar bone.

"Don't say that... Don't say that ever." The artists voice muffled as he spoke into Daryl's sweater.

They stayed in that position for a while, Daryl wasn't sure how long but at some point he had wrapped his arms around the smaller man, tangling his fingers in his hair and holding him close as he could. When they parted Daryl looked down to see his tear stained shoulders, some from himself and others from his lover.

"I love you" Paul barely whispered as he brought his hand up to Daryl's face, tracing his fingers along his jawline before tucking a loose strand of hair gently behind his ear.

"You don't have to say it back, but I want you to know"

Daryl's eyes fluttered closed at the soft touch of the artists fingers, a getaway tear running from his lashes and dropping into his hand resting on his knee below him. His heart skipped a beat as Paul said the words, the ones he'd been waiting to hear for so long yet the same ones he had been running from his whole life. He couldn't even speak. His throat was bone dry and he felt every ounce of breath he once had be sucked into a limitless vortex of forever unspoken words; the things he should have said.

He kept his eyes closed as he felt his lovers fingers entangle in his hair and the warmth of his body gathering every particle of heat towards his chest.

He was scared of love. Love meant falling, and he was afraid of heights.

But _maybe_ with Paul, he could let himself fall and there would be something to catch him at the bottom of the long way down.

Daryl took a deep breath as he slowly let his head gently rest on Pauls own, their eyelashes fluttering against each others. They stayed with their heads pressed together in a cherished silence, only their breaths prominent in the thick cloud of unrequited declaration.

The bikers breath hitched as his lips connected with Pauls following the gentle and sloppy but sweet motion of his mouth in the form of a passionate kiss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another angsty chap, I apologise! Next one is nice i promise x


	19. Chapter 19

Daryl woke the next day entangled in Pauls arms once again. This time he didn't feel the need to move and it seemed to still be quite dark outside so he had at least a couple hours before he was due to go into work. Paul was off that day and so was planning on going to town to get Tara a birthday present as her birthday was today and he was extremely late on the gift purchases. She'd planned a get together at her house later that night - saying it was just take out food, board games and movies; nothing too fancy.

So Daryl breathed in his boyfriends scent and closed his eyes again in attempts to catch more sleep whilst it was still the early morning hours.

The biker woke to soft humming in his ear and fingers caressing his hair as Paul lay his arm across his chest, feeling through his dark, floppy bed head.

"You know when we first met at Glenn and Maggies wedding?" The younger man hummed as his hand then cupped Daryls jaw.

"Morning?" Daryl interrupted in a confused tone.

"Morning, but do you know that I paid for your drink?" Paul postponed his story for the greeting before continuing.

Daryl grunted and narrowed his eyes at his partner and shook his head.

"When I asked you to dance and you rejected me and ran away, you forgot to leave money for the bartender for your drink so I paid."

"You owe me one" he smirked as he pecked Daryls lips before leaning back to watch confusion wash over the older mans face.

"Coulda sworn I-"

"Nope, $7.40 I remember the exact amount" the younger man interrupted as Daryl tried to defend himself.

The biker lifted a hand up in defeat and grunted before giving a low chuckle.

"Kay, guess I owe you one" he drawled before wrapping an arm round Pauls waist and closing his eyes again, taking a deep inhale and breathing out as he felt Pauls soft lips against his forehead.

They got out of bed 30 minutes later, Daryl having a shower and getting changed into fresh clothes before taking off the bandage on his hand to reveal bruised knuckles. They weren't hurting as much now and he wanted less attention drawn to him so the best solution was to take it off. He kissed Paul on the cheek goodbye, unlike him as it was usually the younger who initiated the intimacy but he was in a particularly better mood today.

* * *

He arrived at work and parked his motorcycle outside, 10 minutes early as he walked through the front door causing the twinkle of the wind chimes hanging above it to alert whoever was in the shop he'd arrived. He walked past Simon who was talking to a customer and through to the back of the shop and was greeted by the sight of Negan, sitting in an office chair, legs perched on a desk as he had a disposable cup of coffee in one hand and what looked a stapled few sheets of statistics in the other. At another desk was Dwight, eating his lunch as he sat staring at a computer screen.

Negan tilted the sheets of paper in front of him to look at Daryl, "hell- holy shit what in the fuck happened to you?" He exclaimed whilst a dirty grin covered his face as he noticed the slowly fading bruise on Daryls face and his raised bottom lip.

"The hell, did you get in some sorta fuckin' punch up?" His boss enquired as his legs swing down from the desk and he leaned forward, anticipating some sort of reply from him.

Daryl merely grunted as he flung his backpack onto the only spare desk in the room and crashed into the office seat making it swing around a little at the sudden weight. Negan have a hearty chuckle as he presumed the bikers answer meant yes.

"Probably cause he's with that Jesus guy from across the street" Daryl twitched as he heard Dwight grumble, shooting him a glare before looking to see Negan look up from his statistics once more and make brief eye contact with him.

The man exhaled a laugh and raised his eyebrows, "fuck, really?"

Daryl looked down at his feet, _he couldn't deny it anymore, they were bound to find out one way or another anyway,_ he then gave a small nod, exposing his _secret_  of sorts to his workmates.

"What's it to you?" He growled, making the two men aware he'd be threatening if needed be.

"Woah woah, _nothing_  wrong with that! Just didn't fuckin' know you were into that" explained Negan, waving his arms around in defence.

Daryl turned only to see Dwights narrowed eyes facing his but turning back to his computer swiftly after. If he did have an opinion on it he was obviously keeping quiet about it.

Well atleast that's over with

It was a lot quicker and easier than Daryl had expected it to be, most definitely a good thing.

* * *

 

Daryl got back to Pauls that night at 6pm, getting changed into something nicer of the pile of clothes that had accumulated at the younger's apartment over the past months. Paul had gotten Tara a big box of candy, pyjamas and a DVD for her present - labelling it a movie night necessity pack. He got Daryl to write her card from them both so he had some sort of input (he'd tried to pitch in money but Paul wouldn't let him as always). Before he wrapped the present and stuck the card on top with a slither of clear tape.

Paul had asked him about his day, Daryl then telling him what went down at work.

"It could've gone worse, at least they know now" he smiled before Daryl asked him how his day went.

"Oh very exciting. Went into town, got Taras present, came home, did some work and then I cleaned up those orange juice stains on my bedroom floor since you keep complaining about them" he smirked.

Daryl snorted and rolled his eyes before they set off in the car to the party.

In the car they had a sort of sing song. Paul had now made a CD for Daryl to listen to and had it in his car so they could listen together. Daryl already knew some of the songs and tapped his fingers along to the beat as Paul sang his heart out - not trying to sound good but doing so anyway. Eventually Daryls confidence came more present as he began to him and sing along to the tunes with his partner.

* * *

They arrived at Taras at 7 with warm hugs for the both of them, then being rushed towards the garden by a rather excited and inconspicuous Tara. Paul burst out laughing when he saw what it was she was so ecstatic about.

"A bouncy castle?!" He laughed as held his stomach as he flung his head back in a grin.

"Wow you're so childish I love you" he said once he caught back his breath, earning a teethy smile from his best friend.

"I never got to have one at a party when I was a kid so I thought why not?" She shrugged before taking Pauls hand and dragging him towards the inflatable house.

Paul had to try calm Tara as he needed a second to take off his shoes before he went into the castle, Tara hurrying him like a excitable toddler at their first time at a carnival.

Daryl tried to suppress the grin on his face as he watched his boyfriend and his best friend bounce up and down in the multicoloured castle, giggling like two kids every time each of them lost their balance and fell over. He jumped as someone brushed past him yelling and dived into the castle. Just by the pure sense of the act he knew who it was. Tara and Paul were flung to the sides of the bouncy castle as Glenn laughed at their shocked reactions to his sudden appearance. Then, joining Daryl by his side was Maggie and Rosita. He turned around to see Sasha, Eugene, Rick and Michonne making their way into the garden, grind on their faces at the childish act going on in front of them.

"C'mon guys I didn't hire this out for us three dorks just to use it" Tara shouted at the rest of her guests as she ushered them to join them in the bounce house.

Rick had his hands on his hips, before cocking his head in consideration before uttering a curse and taking off his shoes, jumping onto the bouncy castle. Michonne heartily laughed as she watched her husband in awe, it was rather funny to see Rick - the police officer who was often stern and professional, trip up and fall and giggle on a children's bouncy castle as Glenn tackled him. Everyone cheered and laughed as they watched the officer enter the castle, then prompting some of the others to join. Eventually it was only only Eugene and Daryl left who weren't on the crowded castle.

"Guys you have to come!" Shouted Maggie with a smile on her face as she held on to Sashas shoulder for support.

Daryl had his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet before giving a shy smile and waving his hand in rejection to the offer.

"I do not thing that would be a necessarily wise suggestion considering I've just infested a whole damn lot of cheeses puffs and ice cream and gut movement is not the first thing on my schedule" Eugene said in his usual monotone voice and technical wording as he stood watching the group encourage him onto the castle.

Rosita then jumped from the inflatable surface and grabbed Eugene by the arm, dragging him o the crowd much to his dismay and pushing him over onto the castle. Everyone cheered before Glenn pushed past them to go out and get Daryl, Rick joined him as did Michonne as they hauled him unwillingly into the bounce house.

He stumbled into Paul who tried his best to keep up the weight of his body before tumbling over with a grumble turned giggle as everyone else around them began bouncing too with what little space was left due to the whole party congregating there.

Daryl looked around at the motley crew surrounding him, smiling as he took in the moment, appreciating the family they'd created over the past few years.

* * *

The night then consisted of take out food and movies, everyone bundled with blankets and pillows as they huddled in the warm living room watching a horror film. As Paul went to the kitchen to grab a drink, Rick followed him and pulled him aside.

"How are things with you and Daryl?" He officer asked, taking Paul off guard a little.

"Good, yeah, I think" he stumbled as he found his words replying to Rick.

"I hope so" the older man said as he took a sip from his drink before continuing, "I trust you with him, I know you know but, tread carefully with him. He's in this for the long haul"

Paul felt honoured that he'd gained the mans trust with his best friend. It was like the talk fathers gave their daughters boyfriends when they were a teenager, but it did give Paul a bout of confidence nevertheless. He gave an understanding nod along with a bashful smile as Rick patted him on the shoulder before returning to all the other guests.

After a few drinks, everyone was a little tipsy and giggly, Daryl seemed to be coming out of his shell more - drinking with the right people made him a lot more comfortable with slight intoxication. The topic of conversation got into celebrity crushes, Pauls being Jason Momoa which Daryl just found unfair. The pair were sitting on the floor, backs against the bottom of the couch that Rosita, Tara and Sasha were sitting on with Pauls head resting on Daryls shoulder, Daryls head leaning on Pauls own. Eventually the question got on to Daryl to which he hummed in thought before he slurred "Hugh Jackman" with a tipsy hiccup.

"That's why you like X-Men so much" Glenn exclaimed as he pointed accusingly at his friend who's face went bright red (maybe from embarrassment or maybe it was from the slight buzz of the alcohol).

_Well, he wasn't wrong._

* * *

The night came to an end and the guests said their goodbyes. Daryl and Paul stumbled home, arm in arm in attempts to walk in more of a straight line. When they got in the door, they both downed a glass of water each to sober them up more so there was less suffering in the morning. The cool air had seemed to do that job for them and they were able to walk straight and form coherent sentences, there was just a little more of a buzz in their system than usual.

Paul dragged Daryls hand to the couch and slumped down onto the surface, dragging the older man down with him before shifting so he was the one holding himself above the biker, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, before nuzzling his head into the crook of his neck, beard tickling under Daryls chin. Then, Daryl felt his fingers twitch as he felt Pauls lips against his neck, leaving sloppy kisses down the length of it before placing one on the edge of his jaw earning a low moan from the man as he wrapped his arms around the small of Pauls back.

Daryls heart rate then started increasing and his face flushed as Paul connected their lips, movements sloppy and passionate as he ran a hand through the bikers hair, pushing him more into the kiss. Paul glided his tongue over Daryls and moaned, sending sparks up the older mans spine as the grumble echoed against his skin. Daryl arched his back a little as Pauls hands travelled down his chest whilst he lay kisses on his neck, sucking slightly in attempts to leave some marks. Daryl exhaled as Paul lifted the weight of his body from his own, grasping his hand and leading him to the bedroom.

Daryl swallowed hard as Paul closed the door before placing a hand on the older mans chest, pushing him lightly before he was leaning against the wall with kisses being littered up the sharp edge of his bristled jaw. Daryl had his palms stuck to the wall as he was unsure of what to do, letting Paul lead him and show him along the way. The artist removed his hands from Daryls body to lift off his own shirt in lustful rush, throwing it to the side before taking Daryls hands in his own and placing them on his body, guiding the inexperienced man and showing him what he wanted. Daryl soon got the just of things, letting his hands travel down his partners back as they passionately kissed, leaving little space for breath as once every while the artist sucked the sensitive skin on Daryls neck.

"You want this off?" Paul breathed exasperatingly whilst tugging at the older mans button up.

Daryl gave a quick and nervous nod before Paul unbuttoned the shirt with great speed and seemingly great experience and letting it join his own shirt in the corner of the floor. His hands caressing Daryls exposed skin on his back as they kissed sent shivers up his spine and a heat to his chest as he felt their stomachs graze against eachother.

Paul then grabbed Daryls body pressing their skin together before setting him gently on the bed and pushing gently on his chest for him to lay against the soft duvet. The artist then straddled Daryls lower abdomen as he littered his chest in sloppy kisses as he traced the a line up his stomach with his finger making him breathe out a low moan and arch his back with the intimate touch. Paul exhaled a warm breath into the bikers neck making his legs twitch before kissing his nape and slowly making his way down his body with kisses leaving the top of his jeans. He rest his palms on the older mans love handles as let his breath catch up on him before he liked a stripe up his v-line, leaving the man gasping for breath as he felt his hips thrust upwards to the touch.

"Paul" Daryl breathed as he tilted his head up to look at his partner.

The younger man flicked his head up, pupils dilated in the dim light and waiting on a continuation.

"I ain't... Ain't ever done this before" the older man stuttered, his breathing heavy as his eyes filled with nerves.

Paul let his hands loosen their grip on his partners body as he leaned up slightly more, still keeping his eyes locked on the man in front of him.

"Do you want to?" He almost whispered.

Daryl took a few moments before he shrugged, unable to find the words. The artist then leaned fully up, intending to stop the act before it got any further. Daryl then let his fingers drag across Pauls arm before pulling him down again - curiosity getting the better of him.

"Tell me if you want me to stop and I will" the artist whispered before taking Daryls hand in his own and gently kissing the back of it before returning to the intimate job at hand.

Daryls back arched for his partner and he moaned in ecstasy as he felt the pleasure of intimacy to an extent he had never reached before.

He woke the next morning and told Paul he loved him.

* * *

A few months had now past and Daryl and Paul had only become closer and more strong bonded as a couple. Daryl felt more comfortable going out on dates and holding hands and would often show signs of public affection around their group of friends if he was in a good mood that day. There was still a long way to come but he felt more confident as each day went by.

Paul had also told his mom and sister about his relationship, proud and excited to tell them all about Daryl and his family could tell that this was something different, more than what his past relationships had been just from the way he acted around it. He was always willing to speak about his partner and gush about him. They rarely argued and when they did it was more often than not a petty argument over something dumb. Obviously their relationship wasn't perfect - they each had their own issues with confidence and finding their self worth and were expecting a big argument to arrive some day, but for now they were happy and you couldn't really fault much for that.

It was now only a few weeks until Rick and Michonnes wedding. Daryl and Paul both had suits fitted for them and seemed to be very much prepared for the event. Paul had helped his partner with his best man speech - he'd been nervous for it ever since Rick assigned him with the post. Thankfully it was a rather small reception and so the crowd would only be filled with people he recognised which made it more comfortable. The only thing now that left Daryl stressing out was the inevitability that he'd be dragged up to a couples dance. He'd never slow danced before, or he had at school, but it had been more of just _walking with an out of time rhythm_. All in all he had two left feet.

Paul had teased him about it for a while now telling him he'd have to give him lessons which had so far never happened until tonight.

They were sitting on the couch, Paul with his head in a book and Daryl on his phone, reading random and meaningless news articles. The artist suddenly slammed his book on the coffee table and stood up from his seated position. Daryl watched him intently as he walked over to his speakers, taking his phone from his pocket and connecting it, then scrolling through the screen before settling on a song and pressing play. He then shifted over the coffee table to make a space in the middle of the floor and offering a hand to Daryl for him to take. The biker looked up at him, dumbfounded before Paul raised his eyebrows and picked up his partners hand pulling him up. He then took Daryls hand and placed one on his back and the other he kept in his own hand.

"The hell are we doing?" Daryl drawled as he screwed his face up at his boyfriend.

"Dancing. I told you I'd teach you right?" Paul smiled in return.

Daryl exhaled sharply through his nose as his lips turned up at the edges. Paul then sway their bodies in time with eachother to the soft music.

They spent the next hour - maybe more, dancing in the living room. Giggles filled the air as Daryl spun Paul around haphazardly and the two stumbled on their feet as Daryls skill was much less impressive than his partners and so toes were stood on and their movements clashed. They stood in the living room, swaying their bodies together as Pauls head rest in Daryls shoulder. Their eyes were closed as the soft, [old-timey music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDlKb2cBAqU) played in the background. It felt like something from a movie, a perfect moment, one that would certainly be remembered for years to come.

The pair could probably stay like that forever.

* * *

They lay in bed that night, Daryl with his arm wrapped around Pauls shoulder as the only sound was their breathes. Their heartbeats in unison as they lay content, together.

"You know when we played the drinking game at Glenns?" The younger man spoke up, his voice like honey in Daryls ears, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Daryl merely hummed in reply as his eyes wore tired.

"The question Tara asked me. You never asked what it was, why?" He continued, eyes staring at the ceiling.

"You want the truth?" The biker rasped before turning to face Paul and see him give a small nod.

"Was worried. Worried it'd be something about liking me" he continued as he huffed a laugh when he finished, the irony as he now lay in bed, arms wrapped around the one he was once scared to fall in love with.

Paul exhaled and smiled endearingly.

"Who would you most like to spend your life with, that was the question" he revealed, "cheesy, I know. And a bit of a long shot since I barely knew you. But I knew I wanted to - know you that is. You're one of the most, if not _The_  most intriguing person I've met Daryl Dixon" he turned to face Daryl, chastily kissing his lips before leaning back to look at his narrow blue eyes.

Daryl ushered a low chuckle from his mouth at the reveal of the question that had been biting at his mind but forgotten about almost a year ago now.

"Do you think... Do you think we'll ever settle down?" Daryl stuttered as he asked the almost out of character question.

Paul furrowed his brows but let a smile grow on his face.

"One day, I hope so." He whispered.

"You need to want to spend the rest of your life with yourself before you want to spend it with anyone else" he said as he then turned onto his back so he was facing the ceiling once more.

The words he spoke were true and probably a good moral lesson to go by, it was important to accept yourself as who you were and learn to love yourself before you spent all that love on another being, possibly being the wrong one.

They both had their problems and wether they'd find the solution themselves or with the help of others, their end goal was definitely in the near future however much patience it took.

"I believe we'll get there one day" Paul finished before his eyes fluttered closed.

Daryl couldn't help but release the smile that was tugging at his lips, for he believed so to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to do something lighthearted for the last chapter, hope you enjoyed -- 
> 
> see the next chapter for a sort of afterword x


	20. AFTERWORD

Finally! After months of writing this vic is finally finished. I'm sure I started writing in July of last year so this has been going on for a long ass time.. 

 

I also never thought it would be as much words as it has ended up (i've unintentionally written my first book) but i'm pretty proud of how it turned out from it being my first proper fic i've ever written! There are a lot of things I can improve on - I can work on on making it less OOC, I think sometimes the characters were a little overwritten to my own standards, and i also need to work on sentence structure and definitely need to read more but hey, it's all a learning process!

Anyway, I am planning on writing another fic (based on _The Last Of Us_ video game if anyones interested) but i'm not sure when that will be uploaded. I might write little one shots occasionally too. 

I'd like to thank everyone who had read this story of mine and left kudos and messages of encouragement, you're all so lovely thank you co much for the kind words!

I'd also like to thank the desus group chat (y'all know who u are) for your encouragement from start to finish and for helping me with ideas and such. The scene where Paul cleans the orange juice stains is dedicated to Snoe who was concerned that Paul wasn't looking after his house - so this is for u Snoe 

 

if anyone is interested - here are some playlists I made to go with the fic

[PAULS PLAYLIST](https://playmoss.com/en/yikeserin/playlist/make-happy?ref=TwBas)

[DARYLS MIXTAPE TO PAUL](https://playmoss.com/en/yikeserin/playlist/to-paul?ref=TwBas)

[FRIENDS PLAYLIST ](https://playmoss.com/en/yikeserin/playlist/friends?ref=TwBas)

 

Lastly,... thank you again and if you ever want to talk my twitter is @yikesrovia and tumblr is @yikespinkman

**Author's Note:**

> twitter - @yikesdaryl  
> tumblr - @yikespinkman


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